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Slide 2: PORTABLE MBA in FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING
Slide 3: The Portable MBA Series The Portable MBA, Third Edition, Robert Bruner, Mark Eaker, R. Edward Freeman, Robert Spekman and Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg The Portable MBA Desk Reference, Second Edition, Nitin Nohria The Portable MBA in Economics, Philip K.Y. Young The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship, Second Edition, William D. Bygrave The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship Case Studies, William D. Bygrave The Portable MBA in Finance and Accounting, Third Edition, John Leslie Livingstone and Theodore Grossman The Portable MBA in Investment, Peter L. Bernstein The Portable MBA in Management, First Edition, Allan Cohen The Portable MBA in Market-Driven Management: Using the New Marketing Concept to Create a Customer-Oriented Company, Frederick E. Webster The Portable MBA in Marketing, Second Edition, Alexander Hiam and Charles Schewe The Portable MBA in New Product Development: Managing and Forecasting for Strategic Success, Robert J. Thomas The Portable MBA in Psychology for Leaders, Dean Tjosvold The Portable MBA in Real-Time Strategy: Improvising Team-Based Planning for a Fast-Changing World, Lee Tom Perry, Randall G. Stott, and W. Norman Smallwood The Portable MBA in Strategy, Second Edition, Liam Fahey and Robert Randall The Portable MBA in Total Quality Management: Strategies and Techniques Proven at Today’s Most Successful Companies, Stephen George and Arnold Weimerskirch Forthcoming: The Portable MBA in Management, Second Edition, Allan Cohen
Slide 4: PORTABLE MBA in FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING THIRD EDITION Edited by John Leslie Livingstone and Theodore Grossman John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Slide 5: Copyright © 2002 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or other wise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 750-4744. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012, (212) 850-6011, fax (212) 850-6008, E-Mail: PERMREQ@WILEY.COM. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. This title is also available in print as Bookz ISBN 0-471-06185-9. Some content that appears in the print version of this book may not be available in this electronic edition. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.Wiley.com
Slide 6: Preface Do you know how to accomplish these important business tasks? • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Understand financial statements. Measure liquidity of a business. Analyze business profitability. Differentiate between regular income and extraordinary items. Predict future bankruptcy for an enterprise. Prepare a budget. Do a break-even analysis. Measure productivity. Figure out return on investment. Compute the cost of capital. Put together a business plan. Legitimately minimize income taxes payable by you or your business. Decide whether your business should be a limited partnership, a C or S corporation, or some other type of entity. Take your company public. Manage foreign currency exposure. Evaluate a merger or acquisition target. Serve as a director of a corporation. Build a successful e-business. Understand and use financial derivatives. Use information technology for competitive advantage. Value a business. These are some of the key topics explained in this book. It is a book designed to help you learn the basics in finance and accounting, without incurring the considerable time and expense of a formal MBA program. v
Slide 7: vi Preface The first edition of this book was published in 1992, and the second edition in 1997. Both editions, hardback and paperback, have been highly successful and have sold many, many copies. In addition, the book has been translated into Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), French, Indonesian, Portuguese, and Spanish. We are delighted that so many readers in various countries have found this book useful. Now, the entire book has been updated for the third edition. The following new chapters have been added: • • • • • • • • Chapter 1: Using Financial Statements Chapter 3: Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis Chapter 5: Information Technology and You Chapter 6: Forecasts and Budgets Chapter 9: The Business Plan Chapter 10: Planning Capital Expenditure Chapter 17: Profitable Growth by Acquisition Chapter 18: Business Valuation Also, there are eight new authors, substantial revisions of four chapters and complete updates of all remaining chapters. The book consists of valuable, practical how-to-do-it information, applicable to an entire range of businesses, from the smallest startup to the largest corporations in the world. Each chapter of the book has been written by an outstanding expert in the subject matter of that particular chapter. Some of these experts are full-time practitioners in the real world, and others are part-time consultants who also serve as business school professors. Most of these professors are on the faculty of Babson College, which is famous for its major contributions to the field of entrepreneurship and which, year after year, is at the top of the annual list of leading independent business schools compiled by U.S. News and World Report. This book can be read, and reread, with a great deal of profit. Also, it can be kept handy on a nearby shelf in order to pull it down and look up answers to questions as they occur. Further, this book will help you to work with finance and accounting professionals on their own turf and in their own jargon. You will know what questions to ask, and you will better understand the answers you receive without being confused or intimidated. Who can benefit from this book? Many different people, such as: • Managers wishing to improve their business skills. • Engineers, chemists, scientists and other technical specialists preparing to take on increased management responsibilities. • People already operating their own businesses, or thinking of doing so. • Business people in nonfinancial positions who want to be better versed in financial matters. • BBA or MBA alumni who want a refresher in finance and accounting.
Slide 8: Preface vii • People in many walks of life who need to understand more about financial matters. Whether you are in one, some, or even none of the above categories, you will find much of value to you in this book, and the book is reader friendly. Frankly, most finance and accounting books are technically complex, boringly detailed, or just plain dull. This book emphasizes clarity to nonfinancial readers, using many helpful examples and a bright, interesting style of writing. Learn, and enjoy! JOHN LESLIE LIVINGSTONE THEODORE GROSSMAN
Slide 10: Acknowledgments A book like this results only from the contributions of many talented people. We would like to thank the chapter authors that make up this book for their clear and informative explanations of the powerful concepts and tools of finance and accounting. In this world of technology and the Internet, while most of the underlying concepts remain fixed, the applications are ever changing, requiring the authors to constantly rededicate themselves to their professions. Our deepest appreciation goes to our wives, Trudy Livingstone and Ruth Grossman, and to our children Robert Livingstone, Aaron and Melissa Grossman, and Michael Grossman. They provide the daily inspiration to perform our work and to have undertaken this project. J. L. L. T. G. ix
Slide 12: Contents Preface Acknowledgments v ix PART ONE UNDERSTANDING THE NUMBERS 1. Using Financial Statements John Leslie Livingstone 2. Analyzing Business Earnings Eugene E. Comiskey and Charles W. Mulford 3. Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis William C. Lawler 4. Activity-Based Costing William C. Lawler 5. Information Technology and You Edward G. Cale Jr. 6. Forecasts and Budgets Robert Halsey 7. Measuring Productivity Michael F. van Breda 1 3 35 102 126 149 173 199 xi
Slide 13: xii Contents PART TWO PLANNING AND FORECASTING 8. Choosing a Business Form Richard P. Mandel 9. The Business Plan Andrew Zacharakis 10. Planning Capital Expenditure Steven P. Feinstein 11. Taxes and Business Decisions Richard P. Mandel 12. Global Finance Eugene E. Comiskey and Charles W. Mulford 13. Financial Management of Risks Steven P. Feinstein 223 225 260 291 314 353 423 PART THREE MAKING KEY STR ATEGIC DECISIONS 14. Going Public Stephen M. Honig 15. The Board of Directors Charles A. Anderson and Robert N. Anthony 16. Information Technology and the Firm Theodore Grossman 17. Profitable Growth by Acquisition Richard T. Bliss 18. Business Valuation Michael A. Crain Glossary About the Authors Index 457 459 510 536 561 593 626 643 649
Slide 14: PART ONE UNDERSTANDING THE NUMBERS
Slide 16: 1 USING FINANCIAL STATEMENTS John Leslie Livingstone WHAT AR E FINANCIAL STATEMENTS? A CASE STUDY Pat was applying for a bank loan to start her new business, Nutrivite, a retail store selling nutritional supplements, vitamins, and herbal remedies. She described her concept to Kim, a loan officer at the bank. Kim: How much money will you need to get started? Pat: I estimate $80,000 for the beginning inventory, plus $36,000 for store signs, shelves, fixtures, counters, and cash registers, plus $24,000 working capital to cover operating expenses for about two months. That’s a total of $140,000 for the startup. Kim: How are you planning to finance the investment of the $140,000? Pat: I can put in $100,000 from my savings, and I’d like to borrow the remaining $40,000 from the bank. Kim: Suppose the bank lends you $40,000 on a one-year note, at 15% interest, secured by a lien on the inventory. Let’s put together projected financial statements from the figures you gave me. Your beginning balance sheet would look like what you see on my computer screen: 3
Slide 17: 4 Understanding the Numbers Nutrivite Projected Balance Sheet as of January 1, 200X Assets Cash Inventory Current assets Fixed assets: Equipment Total assets 36,000 $140,000 $ 24,000 80,000 104,000 Current liabilities Equity: Owner capital Liabilities and equity 100,000 $140,000 40,000 Liabilities and Equity Bank loan $ 40,000 The left side shows Nutrivite’s investment in assets. It classifies the assets into “current” (which means turning into cash in a year or less) and “noncurrent” (not turning into cash within a year). The right side shows how the assets are to be financed: partly by the bank loan and partly by your equity as the owner. Pat: Now I see why it’s called a “balance sheet.” The money invested in assets must equal the financing available—its like the two sides of a coin. Also, I see why the assets and liabilities are classified as “current” and “noncurrent”—the bank wants to see if the assets turning into cash in a year or less will provide enough cash to repay the one-year bank loan. Well, in a year there should be cash of $104,000. That’s enough cash to pay off more than twice the $40,000 amount of the loan. I guess that guarantees approval of my loan! Kim: We’re not quite there yet. We need some more information. First, tell me, how much do you expect your operating expenses will be? Pat: For year 1, I estimate as follows: Store rent Phone and utilities Assistants’ salaries Interest on the loan Total $36,000 14,400 40,000 6,000 $96,400 (15% on $40,000) Kim: We also have to consider depreciation on the store equipment. It probably has a useful life of 10 years. So each year it depreciates by 10% of its cost of $36,000. That’s $3,600 a year for depreciation. So operating expenses must be increased by $3,600 a year, from $96,400 to $100,000. Now, moving on, how much do you think your sales will be this year? Pat: I’m confident that sales will be $720,000 or even a little better. The wholesale cost of the items sold will be $480,000, giving a markup of $240,000—which is 331⁄3% on the projected sales of $720,000.
Slide 18: Using Financial Statements 5 Kim: Excellent! Let’s organize this information into a projected income statement. We start with the sales, then deduct the cost of the items sold to arrive at the gross profit. From the gross profit we deduct your operating expenses, giving us the income before taxes. Finally we deduct the income tax expense in order to get the famous “bottom line,” which is the net income. Here is the projected income statement shown on my computer screen: Nutrivite Projected Income Statement for the Year Ending December 31, 200X Sales Less cost of goods sold Gross profit Less expenses Salaries Rent Phone and utilities Depreciation Interest Income before taxes Income tax expense (40%) Net income $ 40,000 36,000 14,400 3,600 6,000 $720,000 480,000 240,000 100,000 140,000 56,000 $ 84,000 Pat, this looks very good for your first year in a new business. Many business startups find it difficult to earn income in their first year. They do well just to limit their losses and stay in business. Of course, I’ll need to carefully review all your sales and expense projections with you, in order to make sure that they are realistic. But first, do you have any questions about the projected income statement? Pat: I understand the general idea. But what does “gross profit” mean? Kim: It’s the usual accounting term for sales less the amount that your suppliers charged you for the goods that you sold to your customers. In other words, it represents your markup from the wholesale cost you paid for goods and the price for which you sold those goods to your customers. It is called “gross profit” because your operating expenses have to be deducted from it. In accounting, the word gross means “before deductions.” For example “gross sales” means sales before deducting goods returned by customers. Sales after deducting goods returned by customers are referred to as “net sales.” In accounting, the word net means “after deductions.” So “gross profit” means income before deducting operating expenses. By the same token, “net income” means income after deducting operating expenses and income taxes. Now, moving along, we are ready to figure out your projected balance sheet at the
Slide 19: 6 Understanding the Numbers end of your first year in business. But first I need to ask you how much cash you plan to draw out of the business as your compensation? Pat: My present job pays $76,000 a year. I’d like to keep the same standard of compensation in my new business this coming year. Kim: Let’s see how that works out after we’ve completed the projected balance sheet at the end of year 1. Here it is on my computer screen: Nutrivite Projected Balance Sheet as of December 31, 200X Assets Cash Inventory Current assets Fixed assets: Equipment Less depreciation Net equipment Total assets $36,000 3,600 $32,400 32,400 $148,000 $ 35,600 80,000 115,600 Current liabilities Equity: Capital: Jan 1 Add net income Less drawings Capital: Dec 31 Liabilities and equity 40,000 100,000 84,000 (76,000) 108,000 $148,000 Liabilities and Equity Bank loan $ 40,000 Let’s go over this balance sheet together, Pat. It has changed compared to the balance sheet as of January 1. On the Liabilities and Equity side of the balance sheet, the Net Income of $84,000 has increased Capital to $184,000 (because earning income adds to the owner’s Capital), and deducting Drawings of $76,000 has reduced Capital to $108,000 (because Drawings take Capital out of the business). On the asset side, notice that the Equipment now has a year of depreciation deducted, which writes it down from the original $36,000 to a net (there’s that word net again) $32,400 after depreciation. The Equipment had an expected useful life of 10 years, now reduced to a remaining life of 9 years. Last but not least, notice that the Cash has increased by $11,600 from $24,000 at the beginning of the year to $35,600 at year-end. This leads to a problem: The Bank Loan of $40,000 is due for repayment on December 31. But there is only $35,600 in Cash available on December 31. How can the Loan be paid off when there is not enough Cash to do so? Pat: I see the problem. But I think it’s bigger than just paying off the loan. The business will also need to keep about $25,000 cash on hand to cover two months operating expenses and income taxes. So, with $40,000 to repay the loan plus $25,000 for operating expenses, the cash requirements add up to $65,000. But there is only $35,600 cash on hand. This leaves a cash shortage of almost $30,000 ($65,000 less $35,600). Do you think that will force me to
Slide 20: Using Financial Statements 7 cut down my drawings by $30,000, from $76,000 to $45,000? Here I am opening my own business, and it looks as if I have to go back to what I was earning five years ago! Kim: That’s one way to do it. But here’s another way that you might like better. After your suppliers get to know you and do business with you for a few months, you can ask them to open credit accounts for Nutrivite. If you get the customary 30-day credit terms, then your suppliers will be financing one month’s inventory. That amounts to one-twelfth of your $480,000 annual cost of goods sold, or $40,000. This $40,000 will more than cover the cash shortage of $30,000. Pat: That’s a perfect solution! Now, can we see how the balance sheet would look in this case? Kim: Sure. When you pay off the Bank Loan, it vanishes from the balance sheet. It is replaced by Accounts Payable of $40,000. Then the balance sheet looks like this: Nutrivite Projected Balance Sheet as of December 31, 200X Assets Cash Inventory Current assets Fixed assets: Equipment Less depreciation Net equipment Total assets $36,000 3,600 $32,400 32,400 $148,000 $ 35,600 80,000 115,600 Current liabilities Equity: Capital: Jan 1 Add net income Less drawings Capital: Dec 31 Liabilities and equity 40,000 100,000 84,000 (76,000) 108,000 $148,000 Liabilities and Equity Accounts payable $ 40,000 Now the cash position looks a lot better. But it hasn’t been entirely solved: There is still a gap between the Accounts Payable of $40,000 and the Cash of $35,600. So you will need to cut your drawings by about $5,000 in year 1. But that’s still much better than the cut of $30,000 that had seemed necessary before. In year 2 the Bank Loan will be gone, so the interest expense of $6,000 will be saved. Then you can use $5,000 of this saving to restore your drawings back up to $76,000 again. Pat: That’s good news. I’m beginning to see how useful projected financial statements are for business planning. Can we look at the revised projected balance sheet now? Kim: Of course. Here it is:
Slide 21: 8 Understanding the Numbers Nutrivite Projected Balance Sheet as of December 31, 200X Assets Cash Inventory Current assets Fixed assets: Equipment Less depreciation Net equipment Total assets $36,000 3,600 $32,400 32,400 $153,000 $ 40,600 80,000 120,600 Current liabilities Equity: Capital: Jan 1 Add net income Less drawings Capital: Dec 31 Liabilities and equity 40,000 100,000 84,000 (71,000) 113,000 $153,000 Liabilities and Equity Accounts payable $ 40,000 As you can see, Cash is increased by $5,000 to $40,600—which is sufficient to pay the Accounts Payable of $40,000. Drawings is decreased by $5,000 to $71,000, which provided the $5,000 increase in Cash. Pat: Thanks. That makes sense. I really appreciate everything you’ve taught me about financial statements. Kim: I’m happy to help. But there is one more financial statement to discuss. Besides the balance sheet and income statement, a full set of financial statements also includes a cash f low statement. Here is the projected cash f low statement: Nutrivite Projected Cash Flow Statement for the Year Ending December 31, 200X Sources of Cash From Operations: Net income Add depreciation Add increase in current liabilities Total cash from operations From Financing: Drawings Bank loan repaid Net cash from financing Total sources of cash (b) (a + b) (a) $ 84,000 3,600 40,000 $ 127,600 $ (71,000) (40,000) (111,000) $ 16,600 Negative cash Negative cash Negative cash
Slide 22: Using Financial Statements Uses of Cash Total uses of cash Total sources less total uses of cash Add cash at beginning of year Cash at end of year 0 $ 16,600 24,000 $ 40,600 9 Net cash increase Pat, do you have any questions about this Cash Flow Statement? Pat: Actually, it makes sense to me. I realize that there are only two sources that a business can tap in order to generate cash: internal (by earning income) and external (by obtaining cash from outside sources, such as bank loans). In our case the internal sources of cash are represented by the “Cash from Operations” section of the Cash Flow Statement, and the external sources are represented by the “Cash from Financing” section. It happens that the “Cash from Financing” is negative because no additional outside financing is received for the year 200X, but cash payments are incurred for Drawings and for repayment of the Bank Loan. I also understand that there are no “Uses of Cash” because no extra Equipment was acquired. In addition, I can see that the Total Sources of Cash less the Total Uses of Cash must equal the Increase in Cash, which in turn is the Cash at the end of the year less the Cash at the beginning of the year. But I am puzzled by the “Cash from Operations” section of the Cash Flow Statement. I can understand that earning income produces Cash. However why do we add back Depreciation to the Net Income in order to calculate Cash from Operations? Kim: This can be confusing, so let me explain. Certainly Net Income increases Cash, but first an adjustment has to be made in order to convert Net Income to a cash basis. Depreciation was deducted as an expense in figuring Net Income. So adding back depreciation to Net Income just reverses the charge for depreciation expense. We back it out because depreciation is not a cash outf low. Remember that depreciation represents just one year’s use of the Equipment. The cash outf low for purchasing the Equipment was incurred back when the Equipment was first acquired and amounted to $36,000. The Equipment cost of $36,000 is spread out over the 10-year life of the Equipment at the rate of $3,600 per year, which we call Depreciation expense. So it would be double counting to recognize the $36,000 cash outf low for the Equipment when it was originally acquired and then to recognize it a second time when it shows up as Depreciation expense. We do not write a check to pay for Depreciation each year, because it is not a cash outf low. Pat: Thanks. Now I understand that Depreciation is not a cash outf low. But I don’t see why we also added back the Increase in Current Liabilities to the Net Income to calculate Cash from Operations. Can you explain that? Kim: Of course. The increase in Current Liabilities is caused by an increase in Accounts Payable. These Accounts Payable are amounts owed to our suppliers
Slide 23: 10 Understanding the Numbers for our purchases of goods for resale in our business. Purchasing goods for resale from our suppliers on credit is not a cash outf low. The cash outf low only occurs when the goods are actually paid for by writing out checks to our suppliers. That is why we added back the Increase in Current Liabilities to the Net Income in order to calculate Cash from Operations. In the future, the Increase in Current Liabilities will, in fact, be paid in cash. But that will take place in the future and is not a cash outf low in this year. Going back to the Cash Flow Statement, notice that it ties in neatly with our balance sheet amount for Cash. It shows how the Cash at the beginning of the year plus the Net Cash Increase equals the Cash at the end of the year. Pat: Now I get it. Am I right that you are going to review my projections and then I’ll hear from you about my loan application? Kim: Yes, I’ll be back to you in a few days. By the way, would you like a printout of the projected financial statements to take with you? Pat: Yes, please. I really appreciate your putting them together and explaining them to me. I picked up some financial skills that will be very useful to me as an aspiring entrepreneur. POINTS TO R EMEMBER ABOUT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS When Pat arrived home, she carefully reviewed the projected financial statements, then made notes about what she had learned. 1. The basic form of the balance sheet is Assets = Liabilities + Owner Equity. 2. Assets are the expenditures made for items, such as Inventory and Equipment, that are needed to operate the business. The Liabilities and Owner Equity ref lect the funds that financed the expenditures for the Assets. 3. Balance sheets show the financial position of a business at a given moment in time. 4. Balance sheets change as transactions are recorded. 5. Every transaction is an exchange, and both sides of each transaction are recorded. For example, when a company obtains a bank loan, there is an increase in the asset cash that is matched by an increase in a liability entitled “Bank Loan.” When the loan is repaid, there is a decrease in cash which is matched by a decrease in the Bank Loan liability. After every transaction, the balance sheet stays in balance. 6. Income increases Owner Equity, and Drawings decrease Owner Equity. 7. The income statement shows how income for the period was earned. 8. The basic form of the income statement is: a. Sales − Cost of Goods Sold = Gross Income. b. Gross Income − Expenses = Net Income.
Slide 24: Using Financial Statements 11 9. The income statement is simply a detailed explanation of the increase in Owner Equity represented by Net Income. It shows how the Owner Equity increased from the beginning of the year to the end of the year because of the Net Income. 10. Net Income contributes to Cash from Operations after it has been adjusted to a cash basis. 11. Not all expenses are cash outf lows—for instance, Depreciation. 12. Changes in Current Assets (except Cash) and Current Liabilities are not cash outf lows nor inf lows in the period under consideration. They represent future, not present, cash f lows. 13. Cash can be generated internally by operations or externally from sources such as lenders or equity investors. 14. The Cash Flow Statement is simply a detailed explanation of how cash at the start developed into cash at the end by virtue of cash inf lows, generated internally and externally, less cash outf lows. 15. As previously noted: a. The Income Statement is an elaboration of the change in Owner Equity in the Balance Sheet caused by earning income. b. The Cash Flow Statement is an elaboration of the Balance-Sheet change in beginning and ending Cash. Therefore, all three financial statements are interrelated or, to use the technical term, “articulated.” They are mutually consistent, and that is why they are referred to as a “set” of financial statements. The threepiece set consists of a balance sheet, income statement, and cash f low statement. 16. A set of financial statements can convey much valuable information about the enterprise to anyone who knows how to analyze them. This information goes to the core of the organization’s business strategy and the effectiveness of its management. While Pat was making her notes, Kim was carefully analyzing the Nutrivite projected financial statements in order to make her recommendation to the bank’s loan committee about Nutrivite’s loan application. She paid special attention to the Cash Flow Statement, keeping handy the bank’s guidelines on cash f low analysis, which included the following issues: • Is cash from operations positive? Is it growing over time? Is it keeping pace with growth in sales? If not, why not? • Are cash withdrawals by owners only a small portion of cash from operations? If owners’ cash withdrawals are a large share of cash from operations, then the business is conceivably being milked of cash and may not be able to finance its future growth.
Slide 25: 12 Understanding the Numbers • Of the total sources of cash, how much is being internally generated by operations versus obtained from outside sources? Normally wise businesses rely more on internally generated cash for growth than on external financing. • Of the outside financing, how much is derived from equity investors and how much is borrowed? Normally, a business should rely more on equity than debt financing. • What kind of assets is the company acquiring with the cash being expended? Are these asset expenditures likely to be profitable? How long will it take for these assets to repay their cost and then to earn a reasonable return? Kim ref lected carefully on these issues and then finalized her recommendation, which was to approve the loan. The bank’s loan committee accepted Kim’s recommendation and even went further. They authorized Kim to tell Pat that—if she met all her responsibilities in regard to the loan throughout the year—the bank would renew the loan at the end of the year and even increase the amount. Kim called Pat with the good news. Their conversation included the following dialogue: Kim: To renew the loan, the bank will ask you for new projected financial statements for the subsequent year. Also, the loan agreement will require you to submit financial statements for the year just past—that is, not projected but actual financial statements. The bank will require that these actual financial statements be reviewed by an independent CPA before you submit them. Pat: Let me be sure I understand: Projected financial statements are forwardlooking, whereas actual financial statements are backward looking, is that correct? Kim: Yes, that’s right. Pat: Next, what is an independent CPA? Kim: As you probably know, a CPA is a certified public accountant, a professional trained in finance and accounting and licensed by the state. Independent means a CPA who is not an employee of yours or a relative. It means someone in public practice in a CPA firm, someone who will likely make an objective and unbiased evaluation of your financial statements. Pat: And what does reviewed mean? Kim: Good question. CPAs offer three levels of service relating to financial statements: • An audit is a thorough, in-depth examination of the financial statements and test of the supporting records. The result is an audit report, which states whether the financial statements are free of material misstatements (whether caused by error or fraud). A “clean” audit report provides assurance that the financial statements are free of material misstatements. A “modified” report gives no such assurance and is cause
Slide 26: Using Financial Statements 13 for concern. Financial professionals always read the auditor’s report first, even before looking at any financial statement, to see if the report is clean. The auditor is a watchdog, and this watchdog barks by issuing a modified audit report. By law all companies that have publicly traded securities must have their financial statements audited as a protection to investors, creditors, and other financial statement users. Private companies are not required by law to have audits, but sometimes particular investors or creditors demand them. An audit provides the highest level of assurance that a CPA can provide and is the most expensive level of service. Less expensive and less thorough levels of service include the following. • A review is a less extensive and less expensive level of financial statement inspection by a CPA. It provides a lower level of assurance that the financial statements are free of material misstatements. • Finally, the lowest level of service is called a compilation, where the outside CPA puts together the financial statements from the client company’s books and records without examining them in much depth. A compilation provides the least assurance and is the least expensive level of service. So the bank is asking you for the middle level of assurance when it requires a review by an independent CPA. Banks usually require a review from borrowers that are smaller private businesses. Pat: Thanks. That makes it very clear. We now leave Pat and Kim to their successful loan transaction and move on. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: WHO USES THEM AND WHY Here is a brief list of who uses financial statements and why. This list gives only a few examples and is by no means complete. 1. Existing equity investors and lenders, to monitor their investments and to evaluate the performance of management. 2. Prospective equity investors and lenders, to decide whether or not to invest. 3. Investment analysts, money managers, and stockbrokers, to make buy/sell/hold recommendations to their clients. 4. Rating agencies (such as Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, and Dun & Bradstreet), to assign credit ratings. 5. Major customers and suppliers, to evaluate the financial strength and staying power of the company as a dependable resource for their business.
Slide 27: 14 Understanding the Numbers 6. Labor unions, to gauge how much of a pay increase a company is able to afford in upcoming labor negotiations. 7. Boards of directors, to review the performance of management. 8. Management, to assess its own performance. 9. Corporate raiders, to seek hidden value in companies with underpriced stock. 10. Competitors, to benchmark their own financial results. 11. Potential competitors, to assess how profitable it may be to enter an industry. 12. Government agencies responsible for taxing, regulating, or investigating the company. 13. Politicians, lobbyists, issue groups, consumer advocates, environmentalists, think tanks, foundations, media reporters, and others who are supporting or opposing any particular public issue the company’s actions affect. 14. Actual or potential joint venture partners, franchisors or franchisees, and other business interests who need to know about the company and its financial situation. This brief list shows how many people and institutions use financial statements for a large variety of business purposes and suggests how essential the ability to understand and analyze financial statements is to success in the business world. FINANCIAL STATEMENT FORMAT Financial statements have a standard format whether an enterprise is as small as Nutrivite or as large as a major corporation. For example, a recent set of financial statements for Microsoft Corporation can be summarized in millions of dollars as follows: Income Statement Years Ended June 30 Revenue Cost of revenue Research and development Other expenses Total expenses Operating income Investment income Income before income taxes Income taxes Net income XXX1 $15,262 2,460 2,601 3,787 $ 8,848 $ 6,414 703 7,117 2,627 $ 4,490 XXX2 $19,747 2,814 2,970 4,035 $ 9,819 $ 9,928 1,963 11,891 4,106 $ 7,785 XXX3 $22,956 3,002 3,775 5,242 $12,019 $10,937 3,338 14,275 4,854 $ 9,421
Slide 28: Using Financial Statements 15 Cash Flow Statement Years Ended June 30 Operations Net income Adjustments to convert net income to cash basis Cash from operations Financing Stock repurchased, net Stock warrants sold Preferred stock dividends Cash from financing Investing Additions to property and equipment Net additions to investments Net cash invested Net change in cash XXX1 $ 4,490 3,943 $ 8,433 $(1,509) 538 (28) $ (999) $ (656) (6,616) $(7,272) 162 Balance Sheet Years Ended June 30 Current Assets Cash and equivalents Short-term investments Accounts receivable Other Total current assets Property and equipment, net Investments Total fixed assets Total assets Current Liabilities Accounts payable Other Total current liabilities Noncurrent liabilities Total liabilities Preferred stock Common stock Retained earnings Total equity Total liabilities and equity XXX2 $ 4,975 12,261 2,245 2,221 $21,702 $ 1,611 15,312 $16,923 $38,625 874 7,928 8,802 1,385 $10,187 980 13,844 13,614 $28,438 $38,625 $ $ XXX3 $ 4,846 18,952 3,250 3,260 $30,308 $ 1,903 19,939 $21,842 $52,150 $ 1,083 8,672 9,755 1,027 $10,782 $23,195 18,173 $41,368 $52,150 $ XXX2 7,785 XXX3 $ 9,421 4,540 $ 13,961 $ (2,651) 472 (13) $ (2,192) (879) (11,048) $(11,927) (158) $ 5,352 $ 13,137 $ (1,600) 766 (28) $ (862) $ (583) (10,608) $ (11,191) 1,084 Note: There are only two years of balance sheets but three years of income statements and cash f low statements. This is because the Microsoft financial statements above were obtained from filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the SEC requirements for corporate annual report filings are two years of balance sheets, plus three years of income statements and cash f low statements.
Slide 29: 16 Understanding the Numbers The Microsoft financial statements contain numbers very much greater than those for Nutrivite. But there is no difference in the general format of these two sets of financial statements. HOW TO ANALYZE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Imagine that you are a nurse or a physician and you work in the emergency room of a busy hospital. Patients arrive with all kinds of serious injuries or illnesses, barely alive or perhaps even dead. Others arrive with less urgent injuries, minor complaints, or vaguely suspected ailments. Your training and experience have taught you to perform a quick triage, to prioritize the most endangered patients by their vital signs—respiration, pulse, blood pressure, temperature, and ref lexes. A more detailed diagnosis follows based on more thorough medical tests. We check the financial health of a company in much the same fashion by analyzing the financial statements. The vital signs are tested mostly by various financial ratios that are calculated from the financial statements. These vital signs can be classified into three main categories: 1. Short-term liquidity. 2. Long-term solvency. 3. Profitability. We explain each of these three categories in turn. SHORT-TERM LIQUIDITY In the emergency room the first question is: Can this patient survive? Similarly, the first issue in analyzing financial statements is: Can this company survive? Business survival means being able to pay the bills, meet the payroll, and come up with the rent. In other words, is there enough liquidity to provide the cash needed to pay current financial commitments? “Yes” means survival. “No” means bankruptcy. The urgency of this question is why current assets (which are expected to turn into cash within a year) and current liabilities (which are expected to be paid in cash within a year) are shown separately on the balance sheet. Net current assets (current assets less current liabilities) is known as working capital. Because most businesses cannot operate without positive working capital, the question of whether current assets exceed current liabilities is crucial. When current assets are greater than current liabilities, there is sufficient liquidity to enable the enterprise to survive. However, when current liabilities exceed current assets the enterprise may well be in immanent danger of bankruptcy. The financial ratio used to measure this risk is current assets divided
Slide 30: Using Financial Statements 17 by current liabilities, and is known as the current ratio. It is expressed as “2.5 to 1” or “2.5 1” or just “2.5.” Keeping the current ratio from dropping below 1 is the bare minimum to indicate survival, but it lacks any margin of safety. A company must maintain a reasonable margin of safety, or cushion, because the current ratio, like all financial ratios, is only a rough approximation. For this reason, in most cases a current ratio of 2 or more just begins to provide credible evidence of liquidity. An example of a current ratio can be found in the current sections of the balance sheets shown earlier in this chapter: Nutrivite Selected Sections of Projected Balance Sheet as of December 31, 200X Assets Cash Inventory Current assets $ 40,600 80,000 $120,600 Liabilities and Equity Accounts payable Current liabilities $40,000 $40,000 The current ratio is 120,600/40,000, or 3. This is only a rough approximation for several reasons. First, a company can, quite legitimately, improve its current ratio. In the earlier case of Nutrivite, assume the business wanted its balance sheet to ref lect a higher current ratio. One way to do so would be to pay off $20,000 on the bank loan on December 31. This would reduce current assets to $100,600 and current liabilities to $20,000. Then the current ratio is changed to $100,600/$20,000, or 5. By perfectly legitimate means, the current ratio has been improved from 3 to 5. This technique is widely used by companies that want to put their best foot forward in the balance sheet, and it always works provided that the current ratio was greater than 1 to start with. Current assets usually include: • Cash and Cash Equivalents. • Securities expected to become liquid by maturing or being sold within a year. • Accounts Receivable (which Nutrivite did not have, because it did not sell to its customers on credit). • Inventory. Current liabilities usually include: • Accounts Payable. • Other current payables, such as taxes, wages, or insurance. • The current portion of long-term debt. Some items included in Current Assets need a further explanation. These are:
Slide 31: 18 Understanding the Numbers • Cash Equivalents are near-cash securities such as U.S. Treasury bills maturing in three months or less. • Accounts Receivable are amounts owed by customers and should be reported on the balance sheet at “realizable value,” which means “the amount reasonably expected to be collected in cash.” Any accounts whose collectibility is in doubt must be reduced to realizable value by deducting an allowance for doubtful debts. • Inventories in some cases may not be liquid in a crisis (except at fire-sale prices). This condition is especially likely for goods of a perishable, seasonal, high-fashion, or trendy nature or items subject to technological obsolescence, such as computers. Since inventory can readily lose value, it must be reported on the balance sheet at the “lower of cost or market value,” or what the inventory cost to acquire (including freight and insurance), or the cost of replacement, or the expected selling price less costs of sale—whichever is lowest. Despite these requirements designed to report inventory at a realistic amount, inventory is regarded as an asset subject to inherent liquidity risk, especially in difficult economic times and especially for items that are perishable, seasonal, high-fashion, trendy, or subject to obsolescence. For these reasons the current ratio is often modified by excluding inventory to get what is called the quick ratio or acid test ratio:  Current Assets − Inventory  Quick Ratio =   Current Liabilities   • In the case of Nutrivite, the quick ratio as of December 31 is $40,600/ $40,000, or 1. This indicates that Nutrivite has a barely adequate quick ratio, with no margin of safety at all. It is a red f lag or warning signal. The current ratio and the quick ratio deal with all or most of the current assets and current liabilities. There are also short-term liquidity ratios that focus more narrowly on individual components of current assets and current liabilities. These are the turnover ratios, which consist of: • Accounts Receivable Turnover. • Inventory Turnover. • Accounts Payable Turnover. Turnover, which means “making liquid,” is a key factor in liquidity. Faster turnover allows a company to do more business without increasing assets. Increased turnover means that less cash is tied up in assets, and that improves liquidity. Moving to the other side of the balance sheet, slower turnover of liabilities conserves cash and thereby increases liquidity. Or more simply, achieving better turnover of working capital can significantly improve liquidity. Turnover ratios thus provide valuable information. The working capital turnover ratios are described next.
Slide 32: Using Financial Statements 19 Accounts Receivable Turnover The equation is: Accounts Receivable Turnover = Credit Sales Accounts Receivable So, if Credit Sales are $120,000 and Accounts Receivable are $30,000, then Accounts Receivable Turnover = $120, 000 =4 $30, 000 On average, Accounts Receivable turn over 4 times a year, or every 91 days. The 91-day turnover period is found by dividing a year, 365 days, by the Accounts Receivable Turnover ratio of 4. This average of 91 days is how long it takes to collect Accounts Receivable. That is fine if our credit terms call for payment 90 days from invoice but not fine if credit terms are 60 days, and it is alarming if credit terms are 30 days. Accounts Receivable, unlike vintage wines or antiques, do not improve with age. Accounts Receivable Turnover should be in line with credit terms; turnover sliding out of line with credit terms signals increasing danger to liquidity. Inventor y Turnover Inventory turnover is computed as follows: Inventory Turnover = Cost of Goods Sold Inventory If Cost of Goods Sold is $100,000 and Inventory is $20,000, then Inventory Turnover = $100, 000 = 5 times a year $20, 000 or about 70 days. Note that the numerator for calculating Accounts Receivable Turnover is Credit Sales but for Inventory Turnover is Cost of Goods Sold. The reason is that both Accounts Receivable and Sales are measured in terms of the selling price of the goods involved. That makes Accounts Receivable Turnover a consistent ratio, where the numerator and denominator are both expressed at selling prices in an “apples-to-apples” manner. Inventory Turnover is also an “apples-to-apples” comparison in that both numerator, Cost of Goods Sold, and denominator, Inventory, are expressed in terms of the cost, not the selling price, of the goods. In our example, the Inventory Turnover was 5, or about 70 days. Whether this is good or bad depends on industry standards. Companies in the autoretailing or the furniture-manufacturing industry would accept this ratio. In the supermarket business or in gasoline retailing, however, 5 would fall far
Slide 33: 20 Understanding the Numbers below their norm of about 25 times a year, or roughly every 2 weeks. As with Accounts Receivable Turnover, an Inventory Turnover that is out of line is a red f lag. Accounts Payable Turnover This measure’s equation is: Accounts Payable Turnover = Cost of Goods Sold Accounts Payable If Cost of Goods Sold is $100,000 and Accounts Payable is $16,600, then Accounts Payable Turnover = $100, 000 $16, 600 which is about 6, or around 60 days. Again, note the consistency of the numerator and denominator, both stated at the cost of the goods purchased. Accounts Payable Turnover is evaluated by comparison with industry norms. An Accounts Payable Turnover that is appreciably faster than the industry norm is fine, if liquidity is satisfactory, because prompt payments to suppliers usually earn cash discounts, which in turn lower the Cost of Goods Sold and thus lead to higher income. However, such faster-than-normal Accounts Payable Turnover does diminish liquidity and is therefore unwise when liquidity is tight. Accounts Payable Turnover that is slower than the industry norm enhances liquidity and is therefore wise when liquidity is tight but inadvisable when liquidity is fine, because it sacrifices cash discounts from suppliers and thus reduces income. This concludes our survey of the ratios relating to short-term liquidity— the current ratio; quick, or acid test, ratio; Accounts Receivable Turnover; Inventory Turnover; and Accounts Payable Turnover. If these ratios are seriously deficient, our diagnosis may be complete. The subject business may be almost defunct, and even desperate measures may be insufficient to revive it. If these ratios are favorable, then short-term liquidity does not appear to be a threat and the financial doctor should proceed to the next set of tests, which measure long-term solvency. It is worth noting, however, that there are some rare exceptions to these guidelines. For example, large gas and electric utilities typically have current ratios less than 1 and quick ratios less than 0.5. This is due to utilities’ exceptional characteristics: • They usually require deposits before providing service to customers, and they can shut off service to customers who do not pay on time. Customers are reluctant to go without necessities such as gas and electricity and therefore tend to pay their utility bills ahead of most other bills. These factors sharply reduce the risk of uncollectible accounts receivable for gas and electric utility companies.
Slide 34: Using Financial Statements 21 • Inventories of gas and electric utility companies are not subject to much risk from changing fashion trends, deterioration, or obsolescence. • Under regulation, gas and electric utility companies are stable, low-risk businesses, largely free from competition and consistently profitable. This reduced risk and increased predictability of gas and electric utility companies make short-term liquidity and safety margins less crucial. In turn, the ratios indicating short-term liquidity become less important, because shortterm survival is not a significant concern for these businesses. LONG-TERM SOLVENCY Long-term solvency focuses on a firm’s ability to pay the interest and principal on its long-term debt. There are two commonly used ratios relating to servicing long-term debt. One measures ability to pay interest, the other the ability to repay the principal. The ratio for interest compares the amount of income available for paying interest with the amount of the interest expense. This ratio is called Interest Coverage or Times Interest Earned. The amount of income available for paying interest is simply earnings before interest and before income taxes. (Business interest expense is deductible for income tax purposes; therefore, income taxes are based on earnings after interest, otherwise known as earnings before income taxes.) Earnings before interest and taxes is known as EBIT. The ratio for Interest Coverage or Times Interest Earned is EBIT/Interest Expense. For instance, assume that EBIT is $120,000 and interest expense is $60,000. Then: Interest Coverage or Times Interest Earned = $120, 000 =2 $60, 000 This shows that the business has EBIT sufficient to cover 2 times its interest expense. The cushion, or margin of safety, is therefore quite substantial. Whether a given interest coverage ratio is acceptable depends on the industry. Different industries have different degrees of year-to-year f luctuations in EBIT. Interest coverage of 2 times may be satisfactory for a steady and mature firm in an industry with stable earnings, such as regulated gas and electricity supply. However, when the same industry experiences the uncertain forces of deregulation, earnings may become volatile, and interest coverage of 2 may prove to be inadequate. In more-turbulent industries, such as movie studios and Internet retailers, an interest coverage of 2 may be regarded as insufficient. The long-term solvency ratio that ref lects a firm’s ability to repay principal on long-term debt is the “Debt to Equity” ratio. The long-term capital structure of a firm is made up principally of two types of financing: (1) long-term debt and (2) owner equity. Some hybrid forms of financing mix characteristics of debt and equity but usually can be classified as mainly debt or equity in nature. Therefore the distinction between debt and equity is normally clear.
Slide 35: 22 Understanding the Numbers If long-term debt is $150,000 and equity is $300,000, then the debtequity relationship is usually measured as: Debt to Equity Ratio = Long-Term Debt Long-Term Debt + Equity $150, 000 = ($150, 000 + $300, 000) 33 1 3 % = Long-term debt is frequently secured by liens on property and has priority on payment of periodic interest and repayment of principal. There is no priority for equity, however, for dividend payments or return of capital to owners. Holders of long-term debt thus have a high degree of security in receiving full and punctual payments of interest and principal. But, in good times or bad, whether income is high or low, long-term creditors are entitled to receive no more than these fixed amounts. They have reduced their risk of gain or loss in exchange for more certainty. By contrast, owners of equity enjoy no such certainty. They are entitled to nothing except dividends, if declared, and, in the case of bankruptcy, whatever funds might be left over after all obligations have been paid. Theirs is a totally at-risk investment. They prosper in good times and suffer in bad times. They accept these risks in the hope that in the long run gains will substantially exceed losses. From the firm’s point of view, long-term debt obligations are a burden that must be carried whether income is low, absent, or even negative. But longterm debt obligations are a blessing when income is lush since they receive no more than their fixed payments, even if incomes soar. The greater the proportion of long-term debt and smaller the proportion of equity in the capital structure, the more the incomes of the equity holders will f luctuate according to how good or bad times are. The proportion of long-term debt to equity is known as leverage. The greater the proportion of long-term debt to equity, the more leveraged the firm is considered to be. The more leveraged the firm is, the more equity holders prosper in good times and the worse they fare in bad times. Because increased leverage leads to increased volatility of incomes, increased leverage is regarded as an indicator of increased risk, though a moderate degree of leverage is thus considered desirable. The debt-to-equity ratio is evaluated according to industry standards and each industry’s customary volatility of earnings. For example, a debt-to-equity ratio of 80% would be considered conservative in banking (where leverage is customarily above 80% and earnings are relatively stable) but would be regarded as extremely risky for toy manufacturing or designer apparel (where earnings are more volatile). The well-known junk bonds are an example of long-term debt securities where leverage is considered too high in relation to earnings volatility. The increased risk associated with junk bonds explains their higher interest yields. This illustrates the general financial principle that the greater the risk, the higher the expected return.
Slide 36: Using Financial Statements 23 In summary, the ratios used to assess long-term solvency are Interest Coverage and Long-Term Debt to Equity. Next, we consider the ratios for analyzing profitability. PROFITABILITY Profitability is the lifeblood of a business. Businesses that earn incomes can survive, grow, and prosper. Businesses that incur losses cannot stay in operation, and will last only until their cash runs out. Therefore, in order to assess business viability, it is important to analyze profitability. When analyzing profitability, it is usually done in two phases, which are: 1. Profitability in relation to sales. 2. Profitability in relation to investment. Prof itability in Relation to Sales The analysis of profitability in relation to sales recognizes the fact that: Income = Sales − Expenses or, rearranging terms: Sales = Expenses + Income Therefore, Expenses and Income are measured in relation to their sum, which is Sales. The expenses, in turn, may be broken down by line item. As an example, we use the Nutrivite Income Statement for the first three years of operation. Income Statements for the Years Ending December 31 Year 1 Sales Less cost of goods sold Gross profit Less expenses Salaries Rent Phone and utilities Depreciation Interest Total expenses Income before taxes Income tax expense (40%) Net income $720,000 480,000 $240,000 $ 40,000 36,000 14,400 3,600 6,000 $100,000 $140,000 56,000 $ 84,000 Year 2 $800,000 530,000 $270,000 $ 49,600 49,400 19,400 3,600 6,000 $128,000 $142,000 56,800 $ 85,200 Year 3 $900,000 600,000 $300,000 $ 69,000 54,400 26,000 3,600 6,000 $159,000 $141,000 56,400 $ 84,600
Slide 37: 24 Understanding the Numbers These income statements show a steady increase in Sales and Gross Profits each year. Despite this favorable result, the Net Income has remained virtually unchanged at about $84,000 for each year. To learn why this is the case, we need to convert expenses and income to percentages of sales. The income statements converted to percentages of sales are known as “common size” income statements and look like the following: Common Size Income Statements for the Years Ending December 31 Change Years 1–3 0.0% 0.0 0.0% Year 1 Sales Less cost of goods sold Gross profit Less expenses Salaries Rent Phone and utilities Depreciation Interest Total expenses Income before taxes Income tax expense (40%) Net income 100.0% 66.7 33.3% Year 2 100.0% 66.2 33.8% Year 3 100.0% 66.7 33.3% 5.6% 5.0 2.0 0.5 0.8 13.9% 19.4% 7.8 11.6% 6.2% 6.2 2.4 0.4 0.8 16.0% 17.8% 7.2 10.6% 7.7% 6.0 2.9 0.4 0.7 17.7% 15.6% 6.2 9.4% 2.1% 1.0 0.9 −0.1 −0.1 3.8% −3.8% −1.6 −2.2% From the percentage figures above it is easy to see why the Net Income failed to increase, despite the substantial growth in Sales and Gross Profit. Total Expenses rose by 3.8 percentage points, from 13.9% of Sales in Year 1 to 17.7% of Sales in Year 3. In particular, the increase in Total Expenses relative to Sales was driven mainly by increases in Salaries (2.1 percentage points), Rent (1 percentage point) and Phone and Utilities (0.9 percentage point). As a result, Income before Taxes relative to Sales fell by 3.8 percentage points from Year 1 to Year 3. The good news is that the drop in Income before Taxes caused a reduction of Income Tax Expense relative to Sales of 1.6 percentage points from Year 1 to Year 3. The net effect was a drop in Net Income, relative to Sales, of 2.2 percentage points from Year 1 to Year 3. This useful information shows that: 1. The profit stagnation is not related to Sales or Gross Profit. 2. It is entirely due to the disproportionate increase in Total Expenses. 3. Specific causes are the expenses for Salaries, Rent, and Phone and Utilities. 4. Action to correct the profit slump requires analyzing these particular expense categories.
Slide 38: Using Financial Statements 25 The use of percent-of-sales ratios is a simple but powerful technique for analyzing profitability. Generally used ratios include: • Gross Profit. • Operating Expenses: a. In total. b. Individually. • Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses (often called SG&A). • Operating Income. • Income before Taxes. • Net Income. The second category of profitability ratios is profitability in relation to investment. Prof itability in Relation to Investment To earn profits, usually a firm must invest capital in items such as plant, equipment, inventory, and /or research and development. Up to this point we have analyzed profitability without considering invested capital. That was a useful simplification in the beginning, but, since profitability is highly dependent on the investment of capital, it is now time to bring invested capital into the analysis. We start with the balance sheet. Recall that Working Capital is Current Assets less Current Liabilities. So we can simplify the balance sheet by including a single category for Working Capital in place of the separate categories for Current Assets and Current Liabilities. An example of a simplified balance sheet follows: Example Company Simplif ied Balance Sheet as of December 31, 200X Assets Working capital Fixed assets, net Total assets $ 40,000 80,000 $120,000 Liabilities and Equity Long-term debt Equity Liabilities and equity $ 30,000 90,000 $120,000 A simplified Income Statement for Example Company for the year 200X is summarized below: Income before interest and taxes (EBIT) Less interest expense Income before income taxes Less income taxes (40%) Net income $36,000 3,000 33,000 13,200 $19,800
Slide 39: 26 Understanding the Numbers The first ratio we will consider is EBIT (also known as Operating Profit) to Total Assets. This ratio is often referred to as Return on Total Assets (ROTA), and it can be expressed as either before tax (more usual) or after tax. From the Example Company, the calculations are as follows: Return on Total Assets EBIT/total assets = $36,000/$120,000 EBIT/total assets = $21,600/$120,000 Before Tax 30% 18% After Tax This ratio indicates the raw (or basic) earning power of the business. Raw earning power is independent of whether assets are financed by equity or debt. This independence exists because: 1. The numerator (EBIT) is free of interest expense. 2. The denominator, Total Assets, is equal to total capital regardless of how much capital is equity and how much is debt. Independence allows the ratio to be measured and compared: • For any business, from one period to another. • For any period, from one business to another. These comparisons remain valid, even if the debt to equity ratio may vary from one period to the next and from one business to another. Now that we have measured basic earning power regardless of the debt to equity ratio, our next step is to take the debt to equity ratio into consideration. First, it is important to note that long-term debt is normally a less expensive form of financing than equity because: 1. Whereas Dividends paid to stockholders are not a tax deduction for the paying company, Interest Expense paid on Long-Term Debt is. Therefore the net after-tax cost of Interest is reduced by the related tax deduction. This is not the case for Dividends, which are not deductible. 2. Debt is senior to equity, which means that debt obligations for interest and principal must be paid in full before making any payments on equity, such as dividends. This makes debt less risky than equity to the investors, and so debt holders are willing to accept a lower rate of return than holders of the riskier equity securities. This contrast can be seen from the simplified financial statements of Example Company above. The interest of $3,000 on the Long-Term Debt of $30,000 is 10% before tax. But after the 40% tax deduction the interest after tax is only $1,800 ($3,000 − 40% tax on $3,000), and this $1,800 represents an after-tax interest rate of 6% on the Long-Term Debt of $30,000. For comparison let us turn to the rate of return on the Equity. The Net Income, $19,800, represents a 22% rate of return on the Equity of $90,000. This 22% rate of return is a financial ratio known as Return on Equity, sometimes abbreviated ROE. Return on Equity is an important and widely used financial ratio.
Slide 40: Using Financial Statements 27 There is much more to be said about Return on Equity, but first it may be helpful to recap brief ly the main points we have covered about profitability in relation to investment. The EBIT of $36,000 represented a 30% return on total assets, before income tax, and this $36,000 was shared by three parties, as follows: 1. Long-Term Debt holders received Interest of $3,000, representing an interest cost of 10% before income tax, and 6% after income tax. 2. City, state, and /or federal governments were paid Income Taxes of $13,200. 3. Stockholder Equity increased by the Net Income of $19,800, which represented a 22% Return on Equity. If there had been no Long-Term Debt, there would have been no Interest Expense. The EBIT of $36,000 less income tax at 40% would provide a Net Income of $21,600, which is larger than the prior Net Income of $19,800 by $1,800. This $1,800 equals the $3,000 amount of Interest before tax less the 40% tax, which is $1,200. In the absence of Long-Term Debt, the Total Assets would have been funded entirely by equity, which would have required equity to be $120,000. In turn, with Net Income of $21,600, the revised Return on Equity would be Net Income $21, 600 = = 18% $120, 000 Equity The increase in the Return on Equity, from this 18% to 22% was attributable to the use of Long-Term Debt. The Long-Term Debt had a cost after taxes of only 6% versus the Return on Assets after tax of 18%. When a business earns 18% after tax, it is profitable to borrow at 6% after tax. This in turn improves the Return on Equity from 18% to 22%, which illustrates the advantage of leverage: A business earning 18% on assets can, with a little leverage, earn 22% on equity. But what if EBIT is only $3,000? The entire $3,000 would be used up to pay the interest of $3,000 on the Long-Term Debt. The Net Income would be $0, resulting in a 0% Return on Equity. This illustrates the disadvantage of leverage. Without Long-Term Debt, the EBIT of $3,000 less 40% tax would result in Net Income of $1,800. Return on Equity would be $1,800 divided by equity of $120,000, which is 1.5%. A Return on Equity of 1.5% may not be impressive, but it is certainly better than the 0% that resulted with Long-Term Debt. Leverage is a fair-weather friend: It boosts Return on Equity when earnings are robust but depresses ROE when earnings are poor. Leverage makes the good times better but the bad times worse. Therefore, it should be used in moderation and in businesses with stable earnings. In businesses with volatile earnings, leverage should be used sparingly and cautiously. We have now described all of the main financial ratios, and they are summarized in Exhibit 1.1.
Slide 41: 28 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 1.1 Ratio Short-Term Liquidity Current ratio Quick ratio (acid test) Receivables turnover Inventory turnover Payables turnover Long-Term Solvency Interest coverage Debt to capital Profitability on Sales Gross profit ratio Operating expense ratio SG&A expense ratio EBIT ratio Pretax income ratio Net income ratio Profitability on Investment Return on total assets: Before tax After tax Return on equity a b Summar y of main f inancial ratios. Numerator Current assets Current assets (excluding inventory) Credit sales Cost of sales Cost of sales EBIT Long-term debt Gross profit Operating expenses SG&A expenses EBIT Pretax income Net income Denominator Current liabilities Current liabilities Accounts receivable Inventory Accounts payable Interest on L / T debt L / T debt + equity Sales Sales Sales Sales Sales Sales EBIT EBIT times (1-tax rate) Net income: Commonb Total assetsa Total assetsa Common equity Total Assets = Fixed Assets + Working Capital (Current Assets less Current Liabilities) Net Income less Preferred Dividends USING FINANCIAL RATIOS Some important points to keep in mind when using financial ratios are: • Whereas all balance sheet numbers are end-of-period numbers, all income statement numbers relate to the entire period. For example, when calculating the ratio for Accounts Receivable Turnover, we use a numerator of Credit Sales, which is an entire-period number from the income statement, and a denominator of Accounts Receivable, which is an end-ofperiod number from the balance sheet. To make this an apples-to-apples ratio, the Accounts Receivable can be represented by an average of the beginning-of-year and end-of-year figures for Accounts Receivable. This average is closer to a mid-year estimate of Accounts Receivable and therefore is more comparable to the entire-period numerator, Credit Sales. Because using averages of the beginning-of-year and end-of-year figures for balance sheet numbers helps to make ratios more of an apples-to-apples
Slide 42: Using Financial Statements 29 comparison, averages should be used for all balance sheet numbers when calculating financial ratios. • Financial ratios can be no more reliable than the data with which the ratios were calculated. The most reliable data is from audited financial statements, if the audit reports are clean and unqualified. • Financial ratios cannot be fully considered without yardsticks of comparison. The simplest yardsticks are comparisons of an enterprise’s current financial ratios with those from previous periods. Companies often provide this type of information in their financial reporting. For example, Apple Computer Inc., recently disclosed the following financial quarterly information, in millions of dollars: Quarter Net sales Gross margin Gross margin Operating costs Operating income Operating income 4 $1,870 $1,122 25% $ 383 $ 64 4% 3 $1,825 $1,016 30% $ 375 $ 168 9% 2 $1,945 $1,043 28% $ 379 $ 170 9% 1 $2,343 $1,377 28% $ 409 $ 100 4% This table compares four successive quarters of information, which makes it possible to see the latest trends in such important items as Sales, and Gross Margin and Operating Income percentages. Other types of comparisons of financial ratios include: 1. Comparisons with competitors. For example, the financial ratios of Apple Computer could be compared with those of Compaq, Dell, or Gateway. 2. Comparisons with industry composites. Industry composite ratios can be found from a number of sources, such as: a. The Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios, authored by Leo Troy and published annually by Prentice-Hall (Paramus, NJ). This publication uses Internal Revenue Service data for 4.6 million U.S. corporations, classified into 179 industries and divided into categories by firm size, and reporting 50 different financial ratios. b. Risk Management Associates: Annual Statement Studies. This is a database compiled by bank loan officers from the financial statements of more than 150,000 commercial borrowers, representing more than 600 industries, classified by business size, and reporting 16 different financial ratios. It is available on the Internet at www.rmahq.org. c. Financial ratios can also be obtained from other firms who specialize in financial information, such as Dun & Bradstreet, Moody’s, and Standard & Poor’s.
Slide 43: 30 Understanding the Numbers COMBINING FINANCIAL RATIOS Up to this point we have considered financial ratios one at a time. However, there is a useful method for combining financial ratios known as Dupont1 analysis. To explain it, we first need to define some financial ratios, together with their abbreviations, as follows: Ratio Profit margin2 Asset turnover Return on assets3 Leverage Return on equity Calculation Net income/sales Sales/total assets Net income/total assets Total assets/common equity Net income/common equity Abbreviation NI /S S/ TA NI / TA TA /CE NI /CE Now, these financial ratios can be combined in the following manner: Profit Margin × Asset Turnover = Return on Assets Net Income Sales Net Income × = Sales Total Assets Total Assets and Return on Assets × Leverage = Return on Equity Net Income Total Assets Net Income × = Total Assets Common Equity Common Equity In summary: N1 S TA N1 × × = S TA CE CE This equation says that Profit Margin × Asset Turnover × Leverage = Return on Equity. Also, this equation provides a financial approach to business strategy. It recognizes that the ultimate goal of business strategy is to maximize stockholder value, that is, the market price of the common stock. This goal requires maximizing the return on common equity. The Dupont equation above breaks the return on common equity into its three component parts: Profit Margin (Net Income/Sales), Asset Turnover (Sales/ Total Assets), and Leverage (Total Assets/Common Equity). If any one of these three ratios can be improved (without harm to either or both of the remaining two ratios), then the return on common equity will increase. A firm thus has specific strategic targets: • Profit Margin improvement can be pursued in a number of ways. On the one hand, revenues might be increased or costs decreased by:
Slide 44: Using Financial Statements 31 1. Raising prices perhaps by improving product quality or offering extra services. Makers of luxury cars have done this successfully by providing free roadside assistance and loaner cars when customer cars are being serviced. 2. Maintaining prices but reducing the quantity of product in the package. Candy bar manufacturers and other makers of packaged foods often use this method. 3. Initiating or increasing charges for ancillary goods or services. For example, banks have substantially increased their charges to stop checks and for checks written with insufficient funds. Distributors of computers and software have instituted fees for providing technical assistance on their help lines and for restocking returned items. 4. Improving the productivity and efficiency of operations. 5. Cutting costs in a variety of ways. • Asset Turnover may be improved in ways such as: 1. Speeding up the collection of accounts receivable. 2. Increasing inventory turnover, perhaps by adopting “just in time” inventory methods. 3. Slowing down payments to suppliers, thus increasing accounts payable. 4. Reducing idle capacity of plant and equipment. • Leverage may be increased, within prudent limits, by means such as: 1. Using long-term debt rather than equity to fund additions to plant, property, and equipment. 2. Repurchasing previously issued common stock in the open market. The chief advantage of using the Dupont formula is to focus attention on specific initiatives that will improve return on equity by means of enhancing profit margins, increasing asset turnover, or employing greater financial leverage within prudent limits. In addition to the Dupont formula, there is another way to combine financial ratios, one that serves another useful purpose—predicting solvency or bankruptcy for a given enterprise. It uses what is known as the z score. THE Z SCOR E Financial ratios are useful not only to assess the past or present condition of an enterprise, but also to reliably predict its future solvency or bankruptcy. This type of information is of critical importance to present and potential creditors and investors. There are several different methods of analysis for obtaining this predictive information. The best-known and most time-tested is the z score, developed for publicly traded manufacturing firms by Professor
Slide 45: 32 Understanding the Numbers Edward Altman of New York University. Its reliability can be expressed in terms of the two types of errors to which all predictive methods are vulnerable, namely: 1. Type I error: predicting solvency when in fact a firm becomes bankrupt (a false positive). 2. Type II error: predicting bankruptcy when in fact a firm remains solvent (a false negative). The predictive error rates for the Altman z score have been found to be as follows: Years Prior to Bankruptcy 1 2 % False Positives 6 18 % False Negatives 3 6 Given the inherent difficulty of predicting future events, these error rates are relatively low, and therefore the Altman z score is generally regarded as a reasonably reliable bankruptcy predictor. The z score is calculated from financial ratios in the following manner: z = 1.2 × Working Capital Retained Earnings EBIT + 1.4 × + 3.3 × Total Assets Total Assets Total Assets Equity at Market Value Sales + 0.6 × + 1.0 × Debt Total Assets A z score above 2.99 predicts solvency; a z score below 1.81 predicts bankruptcy; z scores between 1.81 and 2.99 are in a gray area, with scores above 2.675 suggesting solvency and scores below 2.675 suggesting bankruptcy. Since the z score uses equity at market value, it is not applicable to private firms, which do not issue marketable securities. A variation of the z score for private firms, known as the z′ score, has been developed that uses the book value of equity rather than the market value. Because of this modification, the multipliers in the formula have changed from those in the original z score, as have the scores that indicate solvency, bankruptcy, or the gray area. For nonmanufacturing service-sector firms, a further variation in the formula has been developed. It omits the variable for asset turnover and is known as the z′′ score. Once again, the multipliers in the formula have changed from those in the z′ score, and so have the scores that indicate solvency, bankruptcy, or the gray area. Professor Altman later developed a bankruptcy predictor more refined than the z score and named it ZETA. ZETA uses financial ratios for times interest earned, return on assets (the average and the standard deviation), and debt to equity. Other details of ZETA have not been made public. ZETA is proprietary and is made available to users for a fee.
Slide 46: Using Financial Statements 33 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Financial statements contain critical business information and are used for many different purposes by many different parties inside and outside the business. Clearly all successful businesspeople should have a good basic understanding of financial statements and of the main financial ratios. For further information and explanations about financial statements, see the following chapters in this book: Chapter 2: Analyzing Business Earnings Chapter 6: Forecasts and Budgets Chapter 15: The Board of Directors Chapter 18: Business Valuation INTER NET LINKS Some useful Internet links on financial statements and financial ratios are: www.aicpa.org www.freedgar.com Web site for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. This site lets users download financial statements and other key financial information filed with the SEC and maintained in Edgar (the name of its database) for all corporations with securities that are publicly traded in the United States. This service is free of charge. Another Web site, Spredgar.com, displays financial ratios calculated from freedgar.com. Provides free downloads of annual reports (which include financial statements) filed with the SEC for all corporations with securities that are publicly traded in the United States. Web site of the Risk Management Association (RMA) that contains financial ratios classified by size of firm for more than 600 industries. Information and instruction on many finance and accounting topics. Information and instruction on many finance and accounting topics. Information and instruction from public television on many finance and accounting topics. www.10k.com www.rmahq.org www.cpaclass.com www.financeprofessor.com www.smallbusiness.org
Slide 47: 34 Understanding the Numbers www.wmw.com The World Market Watch (wmw) provides business research information, including financial ratios, for many companies and 74 different industries. FOR FURTHER R EADING Anthony, Robert N., Essentials of Accounting, 6th ed. (Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1996). Brealey, Richard A., and Stewart C. Myers, Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, 3rd ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001). Fridson, Martin S., Financial Statement Analysis: A Practitioner’s Guide, 2nd ed. (New York: John Wiley, 1995). Simini, Joseph P., Balance Sheet Basics for Nonfinancial Managers (New York: John Wiley, 1990). Tracy, John A., How to Read a Financial Report: Wringing Cash Flow and Other Vital Signs Out of the Numbers, 4th ed. (New York: John Wiley, 1994). Troy, Leo, Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios (Paramus, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Annual). Financial Studies of the Small Business (Winter Haven, FL: Financial Research Associates, Annual). Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios (New York: Dun & Bradstreet, Annual). RMA Annual Statement Studies (Philadelphia, PA: Risk Management Association, Annual). Standard and Poor’s Industry Surveys (New York: Standard & Poor ’s, Quarterly). NOTES 1. The name comes from its original use at the Dupont Corporation. 2. After income taxes. 3. Ibid.
Slide 48: 2 ANALYZING BUSINESS EARNINGS Eugene E. Comiskey Charles W. Mulford A special committee of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) concluded the following about earnings and the needs of those who use financial statements: Users want information about the portion of a company’s reported earnings that is stable or recurring and that provides a basis for estimating sustainable earnings.1 While users may want information about the stable or recurring portion of a company’s earnings, firms are under no obligation to provide this earnings series. However, generally accepted accounting principles (GAAPs) require separate disclosure of selected nonrecurring revenues, gains, expenses, and losses on the face of the income statement or in notes to the financial statements. Further, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires the disclosure of material nonrecurring items. The prominence given the demand by users for information on nonrecurring items in the above AICPA report is, no doubt, driven in part by the explosive growth in nonrecurring items over the past decade. The acceleration of change together with a passion for downsizing, rightsizing, and reengineering have fueled this growth. The Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) issuance of a number of new accounting statements that require recognition of previously unrecorded expenses and more timely recognition of declines in asset values has also contributed to the increase in nonrecurring items. A limited number of firms do provide, on a voluntary basis, schedules that show their results with nonrecurring items removed. Mason Dixon Bancshares 35
Slide 49: 36 Understanding the Numbers provides one such example. Exhibit 2.1 shows a Mason Dixon schedule that adjusts reported net income to a revised earnings measure from which nonrecurring revenues, gains, expenses, and losses have been removed. This is the type of information that the previously quoted statement of the AICPA’s Special Committee calls for. Notice the substantial number of nonrecurring items that Mason Dixon removed from reported net income in order to arrive at a closer measure of core or sustainable earnings. In spite of the number of nonrecurring items removed from reported net income, the revised earnings differ by only about 6% from the original reported net income. Firms that record either a large nonrecurring gain or loss frequently attempt to offset its effect on net income by recording a number of offsetting items. In the case of Mason Dixon, the large gain on the sale of branches if not offset may raise earnings expectations to levels that are unattainable. Alternatively, the recording of offsetting charges may be seen as a way to relieve future earnings of their burden. We do not claim that this was done in the case of Mason Dixon Bancshares, but its results are consistent with this practice. Though exceptions like the Mason Dixon Bancshares example do occur, the task of developing information on a firm’s recurring or sustainable results normally falls to the statement user. Companies do provide, to varying degrees, the raw materials for this analysis; however, the formidable task of creating—an analysis comparable to that provided by Mason Dixon—is typically left to the user. The central goal of this chapter is to help users develop the background and skills to perform this critical aspect of earnings analysis. The chapter will discuss nonrecurring items and outline efficient approaches for locating them in financial statements and associated notes. As key background we will also discuss and illustrate income statement formats and other issues of classification. Throughout the chapter, we illustrate concepts using information drawn from EXHIBIT 2.1 Core business net income: Mason Dixon Bancshares Inc., year ended December 31 (in thousands). 1998 Reported net income Adjustments, add (deduct), for nonrecurring items: Gain on sale of branches Special loan provision for loans with Year 2000 risk Special loan provision for change in charge-off policy Reorganization costs Year 2000 costs Impairment loss on mortgage sub-servicing rights Income tax expense on the nonrecurring items above Core (sustainable) net income SOURCE: $10,811 (6,717) 918 2,000 465 700 841 1,128 $10,146 Mason Dixon Bancshares Inc., annual report, December 1998. Information obtained from Disclosure, Inc., Compact D/SEC: Corporate Information on Public Companies Filing with the SEC (Bethesda, MD: Disclosure Inc., June 2000).
Slide 50: Analyzing Business Earnings 37 the financial statements of many companies. As a summary exercise, a comprehensive case is provided that removes all nonrecurring items from reported results to arrive at a sustainable earnings series. THE NATUR E OF NONR ECURR ING ITEMS Defining nonrecurring items is difficult. Writers often begin with phrases like “unusual” or “infrequent in occurrence.” Donald Keiso and Jerry Weygandt in their popular intermediate accounting text use the term irregular to describe what most statement users would consider nonrecurring items.2 For our purposes, irregular or nonrecurring revenues, gains, expenses, and losses are not consistent contributors to results, in terms of either their presence or their amount. This is the manner in which we use the term nonrecurring items throughout this chapter. From a security valuation perspective, nonrecurring items have a smaller impact on share price than recurring elements of earnings. Some items, such as restructuring charges, litigation settlements, f lood losses, product recall costs, embezzlement losses, and insurance settlements, can easily be identified as nonrecurring. Other items may appear consistently in the income statement but vary widely in sign (revenue versus expense, gain versus loss) and amount. For example, the following gains on the disposition of f light equipment were reported over a number of years by Delta Air Lines:3 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 $35 million 65 million 2 million 0 million 2 million The gains averaged about $25 million over the 10 years ending in 1996 and ranged from a loss of $1 million (1988) to a gain of $65 million (1993). The more recent five years typify the variability in the amounts for the entire 10year period. These gains did recur, but they are certainly irregular in amount. There are at least three alternative ways to handle this line item in revising results to identify sustainable or recurring earnings. First, one could simply eliminate the line item based on its highly inconsistent contribution to results.4 Second, one could include the line item at its average value ($25 million for the period 1987 to 1996) for some period of time. Third, one could attempt to acquire information on planned aircraft dispositions that would make possible a better prediction of the contribution of gains on aircraft dispositions to future results. While the last approach may appear to be the most appealing, it may prove to be difficult to implement because of lack of information, and it may also be less attractive when viewed from a cost-benefit perspective. In general, we would normally recommend either removing the gains
Slide 51: 38 Understanding the Numbers or simply employing a fairly recent average value for the gains in making earnings projections. After 1996, Delta Air Lines disclosed little in the way of nonrecurring gains on the sale of f light equipment. Its 2000 annual report, which covered the years from 1998 to 2000, did not disclose any gains or losses on the disposition of f light equipment.5 With hindsight, the first option, which would remove all of the gains and losses on f light equipment, may have been the most appropriate alternative. The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company provides a timeless example of the impact of nonrecurring items on the evaluation of earnings performance. Exhibit 2.2 shows pretax results for Goodyear, with and without losses on foreign exchange. As with Delta Air Lines, it may seem questionable to characterize as nonrecurring exchange losses that appear repeatedly. However, in line with the key characteristics of nonrecurring items given earlier, Goodyear’s foreign exchange losses are both irregular in amount and unlikely to be consistent contributors to results in future years. Across the period 1993 to 1995 the reduction in foreign exchange losses contributed to Goodyear’s pretax results by $35.5 million in 1994 and $60.2 million in 1995. That is, the entire $60.1 million increase in earnings for 1995 could be attributed to the $60.2 million decline in foreign exchange losses. The only way that the foreign exchange line could contribute a further $60.2 million to pretax earnings in 1996 would be for Goodyear to produce a foreign exchange gain of $42.8 million ($60.2 − $17.4).6 Other examples of irregular items of revenue, gain, expense, and loss abound. For example, there were temporary revenue increases and decreases associated with the Gulf War. (“Sales to the United States government increased substantially during the Persian Gulf War. However, sales returned to more normal levels in the second half of the year.”7) Temporary revenue increases have been associated with expanded television sales due to World Cup EXHIBIT 2.2 The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, results with and without foreign-exchange losses, years ended December 31 (in millions). 1993 1994 1995 Income before income taxes, extraordinary item and cumulative effect of accounting change Add back foreign exchange losses Income exclusive of foreign-exchange losses Percentage income increase: Income as reported Income exclusive on foreign-exchange losses SOURCE: $784.9 113.1 $898.0 $865.7 77.6 $943.3 10.3% 5.0% $925.8 17.4 $943.2 6.9% 0.0% The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, annual report, December 1995, 24.
Slide 52: Analyzing Business Earnings 39 soccer. Temporary increases or decreases in earnings have resulted from adjustments to loan loss provisions resulting from economic downturns and subsequent recoveries in the financial services industry. Most recently, there have been widely publicized problems with tires produced for sports utility vehicles that will surely create substantial nonrecurring increases in legal and warranty expenses. Identifying nonrecurring or irregular items is not a mechanical process; it calls for the exercise of judgment and involves both line items and as the period-to-period behavior of individual income statement items. THE PROCESS OF IDENTIFYING NONR ECURR ING ITEMS Careful analysis of past financial performance aimed at removing the effects of nonrecurring items is a more formidable task than one might suspect. This task would be fairly simple if (1) there was general agreement on just what constitutes a nonrecurring item and (2) if most nonrecurring items were prominently displayed on the face of the income statement. However, neither is the case. Some research suggests that fewer than one-fourth of nonrecurring items are likely to be found separately disclosed in the income statement.8 Providing guidance for locating the remaining three-fourths is a key goal of this chapter. Identif ying Nonrecurring Items: An Eff icient Search Procedure The search sequence outlined in the following discussion locates a high cumulative percentage of material nonrecurring items and does so in a cost-effective manner. Search cost, mainly in time spent by the financial analyst, is an important consideration. Time devoted to this task is not available for another and, therefore, there is an opportunity cost to consider. The discussion and guidance that follows are organized around this recommended search sequence (see Exhibit 2.3). Following only the first five steps in this search sequence is likely to locate almost 60% of all nonrecurring items.9 Continuing through steps six and seven will typically increase this location percentage. However, the 60% discovery rate is higher if the focus is only on material nonrecurring items. The nonrecurring items disclosed in other locations through steps 6 and 7 are fewer in number and normally less material than those initially found through the first five. NONR ECURR ING ITEMS IN THE INCOME STATEMENT An examination of the income statement, the first step in the search sequence, requires an understanding of the design and content of contemporary income statements. This knowledge will aid in the location and analysis of nonrecurring
Slide 53: 40 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 2.3 Search Step 1 2 3 Ef f icient search sequence for nonrecurring items. Search Location Income statement. Statement of cash f lows—operating activities section only. Inventory note, generally assuming that the firm employs the LIFO inventory method. However, even with non-LIFO firms, inventory notes may reveal inventory write-downs. Income tax note, with attention focused on the tax-reconciliation schedule. Other income (expense) note in cases where this balance is not detailed on the face of the income statement. MD&A of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—a Securities and Exchange Commission requirement and therefore available only for public companies. Other notes which often include nonrecurring items: Note a. b. c. d. Property and equipment Long-term debt Foreign currency Restructuring Nonrecurring items revealed Gains and losses on asset sales Foreign currency and debt-retirement gains and losses. Foreign currency gains and losses Current and prospective impact of of restructuring activities Prospective revenues and expenses Various nonrecurring items Various nonrecurring items 4 5 6 7 e. Contingencies f. Segment disclosures g. Quarterly financial data components of earnings. Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAPs) determine the structure and content of the income statement. Locating nonrecurring items in the income statement is a highly efficient and cost-effective process. Many nonrecurring items will be prominently displayed on separate lines in the statement. Further, leads to other nonrecurring items, disclosed elsewhere, may be discovered during this process. For example, a line item that summarizes items of other income and expense may include an associated note reference detailing its contents. These notes should always be reviewed—step 5 in the search sequence—because they will often reveal a wide range of nonrecurring items. Alternative Income Statement Formats Examples of the two principal income statement formats under current GAAPs are presented below. The income statement of Shaw Industries Inc., in Exhibit 2.4 is single step and that of Toys “R” Us Inc. in Exhibit 2.5 is multistep. An annual survey of financial statements conducted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) reveals that about one-third of the 600 companies in its survey use the single-step format and the other two-thirds the multistep.10
Slide 54: Analyzing Business Earnings EXHIBIT 2.4 Consolidated single-step statements of income: Shaw Industries Inc. (in thousands). Year Ended Jan. 3 1998 Net sales Cost of sales Selling, general and administrative Charge to record loss on sale of residential retail operations, store closing costs and write-down of certain assets Charge to record plant closing costs Pre-opening expenses Charge to record store closing costs Write-down of U.K. assets Interest, net Loss on sale of equity securities Other expense (income), net Income before income taxes Provision for income taxes Income before equity in income of joint ventures Equity in income of joint ventures Net income $ $3,575,774 $2,680,472 722,590 Jan. 2 1999 $3,542,202 $2,642,453 620,878 41 Jan. 1 2000 $4,107,736 $3,028,248 627,075 — — 3,953 36,787 47,952 60,769 — (7,032) 30,283 5,586 24,697 4,262 28,959 $ 132,303 — — — — 62,553 22,247 4,676 57,092 38,407 18,685 1,947 20,632 4,061 1,834 — — — 62,812 — 1,319 382,387 157,361 225,026 2,925 $ 227,951 Note: Per share amounts omitted. SOURCE: Shaw Industries Inc., annual report, January 2000, 24. The distinguishing feature of the multistep statement is that it provides intermediate earnings subtotals that are designed to measure pretax operating performance. In principle, operating income should be composed almost entirely of recurring items of revenue and expense, which result from the main operating activities of the firm. In practice, numerous material nonrecurring items are commonly included in operating income. For example, “restructuring” charges, one of the most common nonrecurring items of the past decade, is virtually always included in operating income. Shaw Industries’ single-step income statement does not partition results into intermediate subtotals. For example, there are no line items identified as either “gross profit” or “operating income.” Rather, all revenues and expenses are separately listed and “income before income taxes” is computed in a single step as total expenses are deducted from total revenues. However, the Toys “R” Us multistep income statement provides both gross profit and operating income/(loss) subtotals. Note that Shaw Industries has a number of different nonrecurring items in its income statements. While they vary in size, the following would normally be considered to be nonrecurring: charges related to residential retail operations,
Slide 55: 42 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 2.5 Consolidated multi-step statements of earnings: Toys “R” Us Inc. (in millions). Year Ended Jan. 31 1998 Net sales Cost of sales Gross Profit Selling, general and administrative expenses Depreciation, amortization and asset write-offs Restructuring charge Total Operating Expenses Operating Income/(Loss) Interest expense Interest and other income Interest Expense, Net Earnings/(loss) before income taxes Income taxes Net earnings/(loss) $ $11,038 7,710 3,328 2,231 253 — 2,484 844 85 (13) 72 772 282 490 Jan. 30 1999 $11,170 8,191 2,979 2,443 255 294 2,992 (13) 102 (9) 93 (106) 26 $ (132) $ Jan. 29 2000 $11,862 8,321 3,541 2,743 278 — 3,021 520 91 (11) 80 440 161 279 Note: Per share amounts omitted. SOURCE: Toys “R” Us Inc., annual report, January 2000, 25. plant closing costs, record-store closing costs, write-down of U.K. assets, the loss on sale of equity investments, and the preopening expenses. There will usually be other nonrecurring items lurking in other statements or footnotes. Note the approximately $12-million change in the Other expense (income) net balance for the year ending January 2, 1999, compared to the year ending January 3, 1998. Also, there must be something unusual about income taxes in the year ending January 3, 1998. The effective tax rate ($5,586,000 divided by $30,283,000) is only about 18%, well below the 35% statutory federal tax rate for large companies. By contrast, the effective tax rate ($38,407,000 divided by $57,092,000) for the year ending January 2, 1999, is about 67%. Nonrecurring Items Located in Income from Continuing Operations Whether a single- or multistep format is used, the composition of income from continuing operations is the same. It includes all items of revenue, gain, expense, and loss except those (1) identified with discontinued operations, (2) meeting the definition of extraordinary items, and (3) resulting from the cumulative effect of changes in accounting principles. Because income from continuing operations excludes only these three items, it follows that all other nonrecurring items of revenues or gains and expenses or losses are included in this key profit subtotal.
Slide 56: Analyzing Business Earnings 43 The Nature of Operating Income Operating income is designed to ref lect the revenues, gains, expenses, and losses that are related to the fundamental operating activities of the firm. Notice, however, that the Toys “R” Us operating loss for the year ending January 30, 1999, included two nonrecurring charges. These were the asset write-offs and a restructuring charge. While operating income or loss may include only operationsrelated items, some of these items may be nonrecurring. Hence, operating income is not the “sustainable” earnings measure called for in our opening quote from the AICPA Special Committee on Financial Reporting. Even at this early point in the operations section of the income statement, nonrecurring items have been introduced that will require adjustment in order to arrive at an earnings base “that provides a basis for estimating sustainable earnings.”11 Also be aware that “operating income” in a multistep format is an earlier subtotal than “income from continuing operations.” Moreover, operating income is a pretax measure, whereas income from continuing operations is after tax. A more extensive sampling of items included in operating income is provided next. Nonrecurring Items Included in Operating Income Reviewing current annual reports reveals that corporations very often include nonrecurring revenues, gains, expenses, and losses in operating income. A sample of nonrecurring items included in the operating income section of multistep income statements is provided in Exhibit 2.6. As is typical, nonrecurring expenses and losses are more numerous than nonrecurring revenues and gains. This imbalance is due in part to GAAP, which require firms to recognize unrealized losses but not unrealized gains. Moreover, fundamental accounting conventions, such as the historical cost concept and conservatism, may also provide part of the explanation. Many of the nonrecurring expense or loss items involve declines in the value of specific assets. Restructuring charges have been among the most common items in recent years in this section of the income statement. These charges involve asset write-downs and liability accruals that will be paid off in future years. Seldom is revenue or gain recorded as a result of writing up assets. Further, unlike the case of restructuring charges, the favorable future consequences of a management action would seldom support current accrual of revenue or gain. There is substantial variety in the nonrecurring expenses and losses included in operating income. Many of the listed items appear closely linked to operations, and their classification seems appropriate. However, some appear to be at the fringes of normal operating items. Examples related to expenses and losses include the f lood costs of Argosy Gaming, merger-related charges incurred by Brooktrout Technologies, the embezzlement loss of Osmonics, and the loss on the sale of Veeco Instruments’ leak detection business. Among the gains, the Fairchild and H.J. Heinz gains on selling off businesses would seem to be candidates for inclusion further down the income statement.
Slide 57: 44 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 2.6 Nonrecurring items of revenue, gain, expense, and loss included in operating income. Nonrecurring Item Company Expenses and Losses Air T Inc. (2000) Akorn Inc. (1999) Amazon.Com Inc. (1999) Argosy Gaming Company (1995) Avado Brands Inc. (1999) Brooktrout Technologies Inc. (1998) Burlington Resources Inc. (1999) Cisco Systems Inc. (1999) Colonial Commercial Corporation (1999) Dean Foods Company (1999) Delta Air Lines Inc. (2000) Detection Systems Inc. (2000) Escalon Medical Corporation (2000) Gerber Scientific Inc. (2000) Holly Corporation (2000) JLG Industries Inc. (2000) Osmonics Inc. (1993) Saucony Inc. (1999) Silicon Valley Group Inc. (1999) Veeco Instruments Inc. (1999) Wegener Corporation (1999) Revenues and Gains Alberto-Culver Company (2000) The Fairchild Corporation (2000) H.J. Heinz Company (1995) Luf kin Industries Inc. (1999) National Steel Corporation (1999) Praxair Inc. (1999) Tyco International Ltd. (2000) SOURCES: Start-up/merger expense Relocation costs Stock-based compensation Flood costs Asset revaluation charges Merger related charges Impairment of oil and gas properties Charges for purchased R&D Costs of an abandoned acquisition Plant closure costs Asset write-downs and other special charges Shareholder class action litigation charge Write-down of patents and goodwill Write-downs of inventory and receivables Voluntary early retirement costs Restructuring charges Embezzlement loss Write-down of impaired real estate Inventory write-downs Loss on sale of leak detection business Write-down of capitalized software Gain on sale of European trademark Gains on the sale of subsidiaries Gain on sale of confectionery business LIFO-liquidation benefit Benefit from property-tax settlement Hedge gain in Brazil and income-hedge gain Reversal of restructuring accrual Companies’ annual reports. The year following each company name designates the annual report from which each example was drawn. Comparing the items included in operating income to those excluded reveals a reasonable degree of f lexibility and judgment in the classification of many of these items. In any event, operating income may not be a very reliable measure of ongoing operating performance given the wide range of nonrecurring items that are included in its determination. Nonrecurring Items Excluded from Operating Income Unlike the multistep format, the single-step income statement omits a subtotal representing operating income. The task of identifying core or operating income is therefore more difficult. Nonrecurring items of revenue or gain and
Slide 58: Analyzing Business Earnings 45 expense or loss are either presented as separate line items within the listing of revenues or gain and expense or loss, or are included in an “other income (expense)” line. A sampling of nonrecurring items found in the other-income-andexpense category of the multistep income statements of a number of companies is provided in Exhibit 2.7. A comparison of the items in two exhibits reveals some potential for overlap in these two categories. The first, nonrecurring items in operating income, should be dominated by items closely linked to company operations. The nonrecurring items in the second category, below operating income, should fall outside the operations area of the firm. Notice that there is a litigation charge included in operating income (Exhibit 2.6, Detection Systems) as well as several excluded from operating income (Exhibit 2.7, Advanced Micro Devices, Cryomedical Sciences, and Trimark Holdings). Gains on the sale of investments are found far less frequently within operating income. Firms may avoid EXHIBIT 2.7 Nonrecurring items of revenue or gain and expense or loss excluded from operating income. Nonrecurring Item Company Expenses or Losses Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (1999) Baltek Corporation (1997) Champion Enterprises (1995) Cryomedical Sciences Inc. (1995) Galey & Lord Inc. (1998) Global Industries (1993) Holly wood Casino Corporation (1992) Imperial Holly Corporation (1994) Trimark Holdings Inc. (1995) Revenues or Gains Artistic Greetings Inc. (1995) Avado Brands Inc. (1999) Colonial Commercial Corporation (1999) Delta Air Lines Inc. (2000) The Fairchild Corporation (2000) Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (1991) Gerber Scientific Inc. (2000) Imperial Sugar Company (1999) Meredith Corporation (1994) National Steel Corporation (1999) New England Business Service Inc. (1996) Noble Drilling (1991) Pollo Tropical Inc. (1995) Raven Industries Inc. (2000) Saucony Inc. (1999) SOURCES: Litigation settlement charge Foreign currency loss Environmental reserve Settlement of shareholder class action suit Loss on foreign-currency hedges Fire loss on marine vessel Write-off of deferred preacquisition costs Workforce reduction charge Litigation settlement Unrealized gains on trading securities Gain on asset disposals Gain on land sale Gains from the sale of investments Gains on the sale of subsidiaries and affiliates Insurance settlement (tanker grounding) Litigation award Realized securities gains Sale of broadcast stations Gain on disposal of noncore assets Gain on sale of product line Insurance on rig abandoned in Somalia Business-interruption insurance recovery Gain on sale of investment in affiliate Foreign currency gains Companies’ annual reports. The year following each company name designates the annual report from which each example was drawn.
Slide 59: 46 Understanding the Numbers classifying these nonrecurring gains within operating income to prevent shareholders’ unrealistic expectations for earnings in subsequent periods. It is common to see foreign-currency gains and losses classified below operating income. This is somewhat difficult to rationalize because currency exposure is an integral part of operations when a firm does business with foreign customers and /or has foreign operations. The operating income subtotal should measure the basic profitability of a firm’s operations. It is far from a net earnings number because its location in the income statement is above a number of other nonoperating revenues, gains, expenses, and losses, as well as interest charges and income taxes. Clearly, the range and complexity of nonrecurring items create difficult judgment calls in implementing this concept of operating income. Management may use this f lexibility to manage the operating income number. That is, the classification of items either inside or outside operating income could be inf luenced by the goal of maintaining stable growth in this key performance measure. Some of the items in Exhibit 2.7 would seem to have been equally at home within the operating income section. An environmental reserve (Champion Enterprises) appears to be closely tied to operations, as are the workforce reduction charges, a common element of restructuring charges (Imperial Holly); the insurance settlement from the tanker grounding (Freeport-McMoRan); and business interruption insurance (Pollo Tropical). Nonrecurring Items Located below Income from Continuing Operations The region in the income statement below income from continuing operations has a standard organization and is the same for both the single- and multistep income statement. This format is outlined in Exhibit 2.8. The income statement of AK Steel Holding Corporation, shown in Exhibit 2.9, illustrates this format. Each of the special line items—that is, discontinued operations, extraordinary EXHIBIT 2.8 Income statement format with special items. $000 000 000 000 000 000 $000 Income from continuing operations Discontinued operations Extraordinary items Cumulative effect of changes in accounting principles Net income Other comprehensive income Comprehensive income SOURCES: Key guidance is found in Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 30, Repor ting the Results of Operations (New York: AICPA, June 1973) and Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS), No. 130, Repor ting Comprehensive Income (Nor walk, CT: FASB, June 1997).
Slide 60: Analyzing Business Earnings EXHIBIT 2.9 Consolidated statements of income: AK Steel Holding Corp., years ended December 31 (in millions). 1997 Net sales Cost of products sold Selling, general and administrative expense Depreciation Special charge Total operating costs Operating profit Interest expense Other income Income from continuing operations before income taxes and minority interest Income tax provision Minority interest Income from continuing operations Discontinued operations Income before extraordinary item and cumulative effect of a change in accounting Extraordinary loss on retirement of debt, net of tax Cumulative effect of change in accounting, net of tax Net income Other comprehensive income, net of tax: Foreign currency translation adjustment Unrealized gains (losses) on securities: Unrealized holding gains (losses) arising during the period Less: reclassification for gains included in net income Minimum pension liability adjustment Comprehensive income $4,176.6 3,363.3 288.0 141.0 — 3,792.3 384.3 111.7 48.4 321.0 127.5 8.1 185.4 1.6 187.0 1.9 — 185.1 (1.4) 1998 $4,029.7 3,226.5 278.0 161.2 — 3,665.7 364.0 84.9 30.3 309.4 105.5 8.1 195.8 — 195.8 — 133.9 329.7 0.3 47 1999 $4,284.8 3,419.8 309.8 210.7 99.7 4,040.0 244.8 123.7 20.8 141.9 63.9 6.7 71.3 7.5 78.8 13.4 — 65.4 (1.4) 2.1 (0.2) — $ 185.6 (0.5) (1.0) (2.6) $ 325.9 $ (1.2) (1.9) 1.2 62.1 Note: Note references as well as earnings-per-share data included in the AK Steel income statement were omitted from the above. SOURCE: AK Steel Holdings Corp., annual report, December 1999, 20. items, and changes in accounting principles—along with examples is discussed in the following sections. All of these items are presented in the income statement on an after-tax basis. Discontinued Operations The discontinued operations section is designed to enhance the interpretive value of the income statement by separating the results of continuing operations
Slide 61: 48 Understanding the Numbers from those that have been or are being discontinued. Only the discontinuance of operations that constitute a separate and complete segment of the business have normally been reported in this special section. The current segmentreporting standard, SFAS 131, Disclosures about Segments of an Enterprise and Related Information, identifies the following as characteristics of a segment: 1. It engages in business activities from which it may earn revenues and incur expenses (including revenues and expenses relating to transactions with other components of the same enterprise). 2. Its operating results are regularly reviewed by the enterprise’s chief operating decision maker to allocate resources to the segment and assess its performance. 3. Discrete financial information is available.12 Some examples of operations that have been viewed as segments and therefore classified as “discontinued operations” are provided in Exhibit 2.10. Most of the discontinued operations that are disclosed in Exhibit 2.10 appear to satisfy the traditional test of being separate and distinct segments of the business. The retail furniture business of insurance company Atlantic American is a good example. The case of Textron is a somewhat closer call. Textron reports its operations in four segments: Aircraft, Automotive, Industrial, and Finance. The disposition of Avco Financial Services could be seen as a product line within the Finance segment. However, it may very well qualify as a segment under the newer guidance of SFAS No. 131, Disclosures about Segments of an Enterprise and Related Information, previously presented. The treatment of vegetables as a separate segment of the food processor Dean Foods also suggests that there are judgment calls in deciding whether a disposition is a distinct segment or simply a product line and thus only part of a segment. Extraordinary Items Income statement items are considered extraordinary if they are both (1) unusual and (2) infrequent in occurrence.13 Unusual items are not related to the typical activities or operations of the firm. Infrequency of occurrence simply implies that the item is not expected to recur in the foreseeable future. In practice the joint requirement of “unusual and nonrecurring” results in very few items being reported as extraordinary. GAAPs identify two types of extraordinary transactions the gains or losses from which do not have to be both unusual and nonrecurring. These are (1) gains and losses from the extinguishment of debt14 and (2) gains or losses resulting from “troubled debt restructurings.”15 Included in the latter type are either the settlement of obligations or their continuation with a modification of terms. A tabulation of extraordinary items, based on an annual survey of 600 companies conducted by the American Institute of CPAs, is provided in
Slide 62: Analyzing Business Earnings EXHIBIT 2.10 Examples of discontinued operations. Company American Standard Companies Inc. (1999) Atlantic American Corporation (1999) Bestfoods Inc. (1999) Dean Foods Inc. (1999) Decorator Industries Inc. (1999) The Fairchild Corporation (2000) Gleason Corporation (1995) Maxco Inc. (1996) A.O. Smith Corporation (1999) Standard Register Company (1999) Textron Inc. (1999) Watts Industries Inc. (1999) SOURCES: 49 Principal Business Air conditioning, bathroom fixtures, and electronics Insurance Food preparations Food processor Interior furnishing products Aerospace fasteners and aerospace parts distribution Gear machinery and equipment Manufacturing, distribution, and real estate Motors and generators Document management and print production Aircraft engines, automotive parts, and finance Valves for plumbing, heating and water quality industries Discontinued Operation Medical systems Retail furniture Corn refining Vegetables segment Manufacture and sale for the retail market Fairchild technologies business Metal stamping and fabricating Automotive refinishing products Storage tank and fiberglass pipe markets Promotional direct mail operation Avco Financial Services Industrial oil and gas businesses Companies’ annual reports. The year following each company name designates the annual report from which each example was drawn. Exhibit 2.11. This summary highlights the rarity of extraordinary items under current reporting requirements. Debt extinguishments represent the largest portion of the disclosed extraordinary items. This leaves only from two to five discretionary extraordinary items per year among the 600 companies surveyed. The small number of gains and losses classified as extraordinary is consistent with their definition. However, this rarity adds to the challenge of locating all nonrecurring items as part of a thorough earnings analysis. Few nonrecurring items will qualify for the prominent disclosure that results from display in one of the special sections, such as for extraordinary items, of the income statement. A sample of discretionary extraordinary items—that is, items not treated as extraordinary by a specific standard—is provided in Exhibit 2.12. Natural disasters and civil unrest are some of the more typical causes of extraordinary items. The extraordinary gain of American Building Maintenance may appear to fail the criterion of unusual since small earthquakes are
Slide 63: 50 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 2.11 Frequency and nature of extraordinar y items. 1996 Debt extinguishments Other Total extraordinary items Companies presenting extraordinary items Companies not presenting extraordinary items Total companies SOURCE: 1997 62 3 65 64 536 600 1998 73 2 75 74 526 600 1999 56 6 62 61 539 600 60 5 65 63 537 600 American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Accounting Trends and Techniques (New York: AICPA, 1999), 392. EXHIBIT 2.12 Discretionar y extraordinar y items. Company American Building Maintenance Inc. (1989) Avoca Inc. (1995) BLC Financial Services Inc. (1998) KeyCorp Ohio (1999) Noble Drilling Corporation (1991) Item or Event Gain on an insurance settlement for damage to a building from a San Francisco earthquake Insurance proceeds from the destruction of a building by a fire Settlement of a lawsuit Gain on the sale of residential mortgage loan-servicing operations Insurance settlement due to deprivation of use of logistics and drilling equipment abandoned in Somalia due to civil unrest Gain on a downward revision of an obligation to the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund Loss from an accidental melting of radioactive substance in the steel-making operation Gain from a settlement with the government of Iran over the expropriation of Phillips’ oil production interests Gain on the sale of the Company’s consumer credit portfolio Losses from Mount St. Helens eruption NACCO Industries Inc. (1995) NS Group Inc. (1992) Phillips Petroleum Company (1990) SunTrust Banks Inc. (1999) Weyerhaeuser Company (1980) SOURCES: Companies’ annual reports. The year following each company name designates the annual report from which each example was drawn.
Slide 64: Analyzing Business Earnings 51 frequent in the Bay Area. However, the magnitude of this quake, at about 7.0 on the Richter scale, was probably enough for it to qualify as both unusual and nonrecurring. Earthquakes of such magnitude have not occurred since the San Francisco quake of 1906. The Mount St. Helens eruption (Weyerhaeuser) was certainly enormous on the scale of volcanic eruptions. The discretionary character of the definition of extraordinary items combined with the growing complexity of company operations results in considerable diversity in the classification of items as extraordinary. For example, Sun Company (not displayed in Exhibit 2.12) had a gain from an expropriation settlement with Iran. Unlike Phillips Petroleum, however, Sun did not classify the gain as extraordinary. Neither Exxon nor Union Carbide (also not in Exhibit 2.12) classified as extraordinary their substantial losses from what could be seen as accidents related to their operating activities.16 The classifications as extraordinary of gains on the sale of servicing operations by KeyCorp and on a consumer credit portfolio by SunTrust are rather surprising. These two items would seem to fail the unusual part of the test for extraordinary items. The task of locating all nonrecurring items of revenue or gain and expense or loss is aided only marginally by the presence of the extraordinary category in the income statement, because the extraordinary classification is employed so sparingly. Location of most nonrecurring items calls for careful review of other parts of the income statement, other statements, and notes to the financial statements. Changes in Accounting Principles The cumulative effects (catch-up adjustments) of changes in accounting principles are also reported below income from continuing operations (see Exhibit 2.8). Most changes in accounting principles result from the adoption of new standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). The most common reporting treatment when a firm changes from one accepted accounting principle to another is to show the cumulative effect of the change on the results of prior years in the income statement for the year of the change. Less common is the retroactive restatement of the prior-year statements to the new accounting basis. Under this method, the effect of the change on the years prior to those presented in the annual report for the year of the change is treated as an adjustment to retained earnings of the earliest year presented. As noted previously, in recent years accounting changes have been dominated by the requirement to adopt new generally accepted accounting principles (GAAPs). Discretionary changes in accounting principle are a distinct minority. Examples of discretionary changes would be a switch from accelerated to straight-line depreciation or from the LIFO to FIFO inventory method. Information on accounting changes in both accounting principles and in estimates is provided in Exhibit 2.13. This information is drawn from an annual survey of the annual reports of 600 companies conducted by the American
Slide 65: 52 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 2.13 Accounting changes. Number of Companies Subject of the Change Software development costs (SOP 98-1) Start-up costs (SOP 98-5) Inventories Revenue recognition (SAB 101) Depreciable lives Software revenue recognition Derivatives and hedging activities Market-value valuation of pension assets Bankruptcy code reporting (SOP 90-7) Recoverability of goodwill Depreciation method Business process reengineering (EITF 97-13) Impairment of long-lived assets (SFAS 121) Reporting entity Other SOURCE: 1996 — — 5 — 3 — — — — — 4 — 134 1 28 1997 1 2 4 — 3 — — — — — 3 28 39 1 57 1998 37 29 5 — 4 4 — — — — — 10 3 2 13 1999 66 39 5 5 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 — — 10 American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Accounting Trends and Techniques (New York: AICPA, 2000), 79. Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The distribution of adoption dates across several years, especially for SFAS 121, occurs because some firms adopt the new statement prior to its mandatory adoption date. In addition, the required adoption date for new standards is typically for years beginning after December 15 of the year specified. This means that firms whose fiscal year starts on January 1 are the first to be required to adopt the new standard. Other firms adopt throughout the following year. Most recent changes in accounting principles have been reported on a cumulative-effect basis. The cumulative effect is reported net of tax in a separate section (see Exhibit 2.8) of the income statement. The cumulative effect is the impact of the change on the results of previous years. The impact of the change on the current year, that is, year of the change, is typically disclosed in a note describing the change and its impact. However, it is not disclosed separately on the face of the income statement. An example of the disclosure of both the cumulative effect of an accounting change and its effect on income from continuing operations is provided below: Cumulative effect Effective January 1, 1998, Armco changed its method of amortizing unrecognized net gains and losses related to its obligations for pensions and other postretirement benefits. In 1998, Armco recognized income of $237.5 million, or $2.20 per share of common stock, for the cumulative effect of this accounting change. Effect on income from continuing operations for the year of change
Slide 66: Analyzing Business Earnings 53 Adoption of the new method increased 1998 income from continuing operations by approximately $3.0 million or $0.03 per share of common stock.17 In analyzing earnings, the effect of an accounting change on the results of previous years will be prominently displayed net of its tax effect on the face of the income statement. However, the effect on the current year’s income from continuing operations appears only in the note describing the change. While not the case for the Armco example, the current-year effect of the change is often large and should be considered in interpreting the performance of the current year in relation to previous years. Most of the entries in Exhibit 2.13 represent the mandatory adoption of new GAAP. Two statements of position (SOP), SOP 98-1 and 98-5, produced most of the accounting changes in 1998. Statements of position are issued by the AICPA and are considered part of the body of GAAP. The same is true for EITF 97-13. An EITF represents a consensus reached on a focused technical accounting and reporting issue by the Emerging Issues Task Force of FASB. The item listed as SAB 101 is a document issued by the SEC and will continue to cause changes in the timing of the recognition of income by many companies.18 The single listed FASB statement, SFAS 121, illustrates the multiyear adoption pattern that ref lects early adopters in 1995, followed by mandatory adopters in subsequent years. Some of the items listed in Exhibit 2.13 represent changes in accounting estimates as opposed to accounting principles. Changes in depreciation method are changes in accounting principle, whereas changes in depreciable lives are changes in estimate. The accounting treatments of the two different types of changes are quite different. Changes in accounting estimates are discussed next. Changes in Estimates Whereas changes in accounting principles are handled on either a cumulativeeffect (catch-up) or retroactive restatement basis, changes in accounting estimates are handled on a prospective basis only. The impact of a change is included only in current or future periods; retroactive restatements are not permitted. For example, effective January 1, 1999, Southwest Airlines changed the useful lives of its 737-300 and 737-500 aircraft. This is considered a change in estimate. Southwest’s change in estimate was disclosed in the following note: Change in Accounting Estimate Effective January 1, 1999, the Company revised the estimated useful lives of its 737-300 and 737-500 aircraft from 20 years to 23 years. This change was the result of the Company’s assessment of the remaining useful lives of the aircraft based on the manufacturer ’s design lives, the Company’s increased average aircraft stage (trip) length, and the Company’s previous experience. The effect of this change was to reduce depreciation expense approximately $25.7 million and increase net income $.03 per diluted share for the year ended December 31, 1999.19
Slide 67: 54 Understanding the Numbers The $25.7 million reduction in 1999 depreciation was not set out separately in Southwest’s 1999 income statement, as would be the case if the depreciation reduction resulted from a change to straight-line from the accelerated method. Unlike the case of AK Steel (Exhibit 2.9), there is no cumulativeeffect adjustment in the Southwest income statement. Southwest reported pretax earnings of $774 million in 1999. Pretax earnings in 1998 were $705 million. On an as-reported basis, Southwest’s pretax earnings grew by 10% in 1999. Without the $25.7 million benefit from the increase in aircraft useful lives, however, the pretax earnings increase in 1999 would have been only 6%. That is, on a consistent basis Southwest’s improvement in operating results is sharply lower than the as-reported results would suggest. Locating the effect of this accounting change and determining its contribution to Southwest’s 1999 net income is essential in any effort to judge its 1999 financial performance. Identifying nonrecurring items in the income statement as outlined above is a key first step in earnings analysis; many such items will be located at other places in the annual report. The discussion that follows considers other locations where additional nonrecurring items may be located. NONR ECURR ING ITEMS IN THE STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS After the income statement, the operating activities section of the statement of cash f lows is an excellent secondary source to use in locating nonrecurring items (step 2 in the search sequence in Exhibit 2.3). The diagnostic value of this section of the statement of cash f lows results from two factors. First, gains and losses on the sale of investments and fixed assets must be removed from net income in arriving at cash f low from operating activities. Second, noncash items of revenue or gain and expense or loss must also be removed from net income. All cash inf lows associated with the sale of investments and fixed assets must be classified in the investing activities section of the statement of cash f lows. This classification requires removal of the gains or losses typically nonrecurring in nature from net income in arriving at cash f low from operating activities. Similarly, because many nonrecurring expenses or losses do not involve a current-period cash outf low, such items must be adjusted out of net income in arriving at cash f low from operating activities. Such adjustments, if not simply combined in a miscellaneous balance, often highlight nonrecurring items. The partial statement of cash f lows of Escalon Medical Corporation in Exhibit 2.14 illustrates the disclosure of nonrecurring items in the operatingactivities section of the statement of cash f lows. The nonrecurring items would appear to be (1) the write-down of intangible assets, (2) the net gain on sale of the Betadine product line, (3) the net gain on the sale of the Silicone Oil product
Slide 68: Analyzing Business Earnings 55 EXHIBIT 2.14 Nonrecurring items disclosed in the statement of cash f lows: Escalon Medical Corporation, partial consolidated statements of cash f lows, years ended June 30. 1998 Cash Flows from Operating Activities Net income (loss) $ 171,472 Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided from (used in) operating activities: Depreciation and amortization 331,987 Equity in net loss of joint venture — Income from license of intellectual laser property (75,000) Write-down of intangible assets — Net gain on sale of Betadine product line — Net gain on sale of Silicone Oil product line — Write-down of patents and goodwill — Change in operating assets and liabilities: Accounts receivable (353,113) Inventory 115,740 Other current and long-term assets (16,862) Accounts payable and accrued expenses (360,396) Net cash provided from (used in) operating activities SOURCE: 1999 2000 $1,193,787 $ (862,652) 363,687 — — 24,805 (879,159) — — (48,451) (410,476) (116,491) 519,764 $647,466 666,770 33,382 — — — (1,863,915) 417,849 586,424 162,862 (164,960) (416,506) $(1,440,746) $(186,172) Escalon Medical Corporation, annual report, June 2000, F-6. line, and (4) the write-down of patent costs and goodwill. The Escalon income statement also disclosed, on separate lines, each of the nonrecurring items revealed in the operating activities section, with the exception of the intangible assets write-down. The asset write-downs, items (1) and (4) above, are added back to net income or loss because they are noncash. The gains on the product-line sales are deducted from net income or loss because all cash from such transactions, including the portion represented by the gain, must be classified in the investing activities section of the cash f low statement. As the gains are part of net income or loss, a failure to remove them would both overstate cash f lows from operating activities and understate investing cash inf lows. Examples of nonrecurring items disclosed in the operating activities section of a number of different companies are presented in Exhibit 2.15. Frequently, nonrecurring items appear in both the income statement and operating activities section of the statement of cash f lows. However, some nonrecurring items are disclosed in the statement of cash f lows but not the income statement. Exhibit 2.15 provides examples of both types of disclosure.
Slide 69: 56 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 2.15 Disclosure of nonrecurring items in both the income statement and operating activities section of the statement of cash f lows. Company Nonrecurring Item Separately disclosed in both the income statement and statement of cash f lows Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (1999) Air T Inc. (2000) AmSouth Bancorporation (1999) Armstrong World Industries Inc. (1999) Baycorp Holdings Ltd. (1999) Callon Petroleum Company (1999) Corning Inc. (1999) Delta Air Lines Inc. (2000) The Fairchild Corporation (2000) Gerber Scientific Inc. (2000) Hercules Inc. (1999) Raven Industries Inc. (2000) Gain on sale of Vantis Loss on the sale of assets Merger-related costs Charge for asbestos liability Unrealized loss on energy trading contracts Impairment of oil and gas properties Nonoperating gains Asset write-downs and other special charges Restructuring charges Nonrecurring special charges Charge for acquired in-process R&D Gain on sale of investment in affiliate Separately disclosed only in the statement of cash f low Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (1999) Brush Wellman Inc. (1999) Chiquita Brands International Inc. (1999) Dal-Tile International Inc. (1999) Evans & Sutherland Computer Corporation (1998) M.A. Hanna Company (1999) H.J. Heinz Company (1999) JLG Industries Inc. (2000) Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. (1999) Petroleum Helicopters Inc. (1999) Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc. (1999) Synthetech Inc. (2000) SOURCES: Charge for settlement of litigation Impairment of fixed assets and related intangibles Write-down of banana production assets, net Impairment of assets and foreign-currency gain Inventory write-downs Provision for loss on sale of assets Gain on sale of bakery products unit Restructuring charges Provision for impairment of goodwill Gain on asset dispositions Environmental reserve reversal Realized gain on sale of securities Companies’ annual reports. The year following each company name designates the annual report from which the example was drawn. Interpreting Information in the Operating Activities Section The statement of cash f lows is an important additional source of information on nonrecurring items. It enables one to detect items that are not disclosed separately in the income statement but appear in the statement of cash f lows because of either their noncash or nonoperating character. To realize the diagnostic value of the statement of cash f lows, one must determine which items in the operating activities section of the statement of cash f lows are nonrecurring. The appearance in the statement of cash f lows as merely an addition to or deduction from net income or loss does not signify that the item is nonrecurring. Some entries in this section simply ref lect the noncash character of
Slide 70: Analyzing Business Earnings 57 certain items of revenue, gain, expense, and loss. For example, depreciation and amortization are added back to Escalon’s net income or loss (Exhibit 2.14) because they are not cash expenses.20 The two asset write-downs are likewise added back to net income or loss because of their noncash character. However, a separate judgment may also be made that, unlike depreciation, these two items are both noncash and nonrecurring. Also notice that two different gains on sales of product lines are deducted in arriving at operating cash f low. It would be tempting to assume that these are noncash gains. However, the investing activities section of the Escalon statement of cash f lows, a portion of which is included in Exhibit 2.16, reveals this not to be the case. Cash inf lows of $2,059,835 and $2,117,180 from the sales of Betadine and Silicone Oil, respectively, are disclosed in cash f lows from investing activities. The gains are fully backed by cash inf lows, but they are deducted from net income because they are not considered a source of operating cash f low. Whatever the specific basis for deducting these gains from net income to arrive at cash f low from operating activities, the process of deduction simultaneously discloses these nonrecurring items. Two other items in Escalon’s operating activities section (Exhibit 2.14) require comment. First, the addition to the 2000 net loss of $33,382 for “equity in net loss of joint venture” is required because of the noncash nature of this loss. GAAPs require that a firm (the investor) with an ownership position that permits it to exercise significant inf luence over another company (the investee) short of control must recognize its share of the investee’s results. This principle caused Escalon to recognize its share of its investee’s loss in 2000. However, there is no cash outf low on Escalon’s part associated with simply recognizing this loss in its income statement.21 Therefore, the addition of the loss to net income simply ref lects its noncash character. Determining whether the loss is nonrecurring would require an examination of the income statement of the underlying investee company. The second item is the $75,000 of “income from license of intellectual laser property.” This item is deducted from 1998 net income in arriving at EXHIBIT 2.16 Investing cash f lows: Escalon Medical Corporation, partial investing cash f lows section, years ended June 30. 1998 Cash Flows from Investing Activities: Purchase of investments Proceeds from maturities of investments Net change in cash and cash equivalents—restricted Proceeds from the sale of Betadine product line Proceeds from sales of Silicone Oil product line SOURCE: 1999 2000 $(470,180) 375,164 — — — $ (259,000) 589,016 (1,000,000) 2,059,835 — $(7,043,061) 7,043,061 1,000,000 — 2,117,180 Escalon Medical Corporation, annual report, June 2000, F-6.
Slide 71: 58 Understanding the Numbers operating cash f low. This deduction may indicate either that no cash was collected in connection with recording this income or that the income is not considered to be an operating cash-f low item. The absence of a cash inf low is the more likely explanation. But should the $75,000 be seen as nonrecurring? If this were a one-time licensing fee, then it should be treated as nonrecurring in evaluating the $171,472 of 1998 net income. Escalon has a substantial net-operating-loss carryforward, and its 1998 pretax and after-tax results are the same. As a result, this $75,000 of income amounted to 44% of Escalon’s 1998 net income. The absence of this item in the cash f lows statement in either 1999 or 2000 gives the licensing fee the appearance of being nonrecurring. NONR ECURR ING ITEMS IN THE INVENTORY DISCLOSUR ES OF LIFO FI RMS The carrying values of inventories maintained under the LIFO method are sometimes significantly understated in relationship to their replacement cost. For public companies, the difference between the LIFO carrying value and replacement cost (frequently approximated by FIFO) is a required disclosure under SEC regulations.22 An example of a substantial difference between LIFO and current replacement value is found in a summary of the inventory disclosures of Handy and Harman Inc. in Exhibit 2.17. A reduction in the physical inventory quantities of a LIFO inventory is called a LIFO liquidation. With a LIFO liquidation a portion of the firm’s cost of sales for the year will consist of the carrying values associated with the liquidated units. These costs are typically lower than current replacement costs, resulting in increased profits or reduced losses. As with the differences between the LIFO cost and the replacement value of the LIFO inventory, SEC regulations also call for disclosures of the effect of LIFO liquidations.23 Handy and Harman had LIFO liquidations in both 1996 and 1997. In line with these SEC requirements, Handy and Harman provided the following disclosure of the effects of these inventory reductions: Included in continuing operations for 1996 and 1997 are profits before taxes of $33,630,000 and $6,408,000, respectively, from reduction in the quantities of EXHIBIT 2.17 LIFO inventor y valuation dif ferences: Handy and Harman Inc. inventor y footnote, years ended December 31 (in thousands). 1996 Precious metals stated at LIFO cost LIFO inventory—excess of year-end market value over LIFO cost SOURCE: 1997 $ 20,960 106,201 $24,763 97,996 Data obtained from Disclosure Inc., Compact D/SEC: Corporate Information on Public Companies Filing with the SEC (Bethesda, MD: Disclosure Inc., June 1998).
Slide 72: Analyzing Business Earnings 59 precious metal inventories valued under the LIFO method. The after-tax effect on continuing operations for 1996 and 1997 amounted to $19,260,000 ($1.40 per basic share) and $3,717,000 ($.31 per basic share), respectively.24 The effect of the Handy and Harman LIFO liquidation is quite dramatic. Including the effects of the LIFO liquidations, Handy and Harman reported after-tax income from continuing operations of $33,773,000 in 1996 and $20,910,000 in 1997. Of the after-tax earnings from continuing operations 57% in 1996 and 18% in 1997 resulted from the LIFO liquidations. Handy and Harman reported benefits from LIFO liquidations for most years between 1991 and 1997. Although Handy and Harman reported LIFO liquidations with some regularity, an analysis of sustainable earnings should consider the profit improvements from the liquidations to be nonrecurring. The LIFO-liquidation benefits result from reductions in the physical quantity of inventory. There are obvious limits on the ability to sustain these liquidations in future years; as a practical matter, the inventory cannot be reduced to zero.25 Moreover, the variability in the size of the liquidation benefits argues for the nonrecurring classification. The profit improvements resulting from the LIFO liquidations simply represent the realization of an undervalued asset and are analogous to the gain associated with the disposition of an undervalued investment, piece of equipment, or plot of land. A statement user cannot rely on the disclosure requirements of the SEC when reviewing the statements of nonpublic companies, especially where an outside accountant has performed only a review or compilation.26 However, one can infer the possibility of a LIFO liquidation through the combination of a decline in the dollar amount of inventory across the year and an otherwise unexplainable improvement in gross margins. Details on the existence and impact of a LIFO liquidation could then be discussed with management.27 NONR ECURR ING ITEMS IN THE INCOME TAX NOTE Income tax notes are among the more challenging of the disclosures found in annual reports. They can, however, be a rich source of information on nonrecurring items. Fortunately, our emphasis on the persistence of earnings requires a focus on a single key schedule found in the standard income tax note. The goal is simply to identify nonrecurring tax increases and decreases in this schedule. The key source of information on nonrecurring increases and decreases in income taxes is a schedule that reconciles the actual tax expense or tax benefit with the amount that would have resulted if all pretax results had been taxed at the statutory federal rate. This disclosure for Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) is presented in Exhibit 2.18. Notice that ADM’s effective tax rate is reduced in 2000 by 17 percentage points as a result of redetermining taxes in prior years. This percentage reduction
Slide 73: 60 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 2.18 Reconciliation of statutor y and actual federal tax rates: Archer Daniels Midland Company, years ended June 30. 1998 Statutory rate Prior years tax redetermination Foreign sales corporation State income taxes, net of federal benefit Indefinitely invested foreign earnings Litigation settlements and fines Other Effective rate SOURCE: 1999 35.0% — (4.5) 2.2 (1.8) — 2.1 33.0% 2000 35.0% (17.0) (6.3) 2.7 (0.3) — 0.7 14.8% 35.0% — (4.7) 2.4 0.7 1.4 (1.0) 33.8% Archer Daniels Midland Company, annual report, June 2000, 32. is expressed in terms of the relationship of the tax reduction to income from continuing operations before taxes. ADM’s 2000 pretax income from continuing operations is $353,237,000 and its total tax provision was $52,334,000. The 2000 effective tax rate, disclosed in Exhibit 2.18, is derived by dividing the total tax provision by income from continuing operations before taxes: $52,334,000 divided by $353,237,000 equals 14.8%. The dollar, as opposed to percentage tax savings, is found by multiplying 17% times the 2000 pretax earnings: $353,237,000 × 0.17 = $60 million. ADM explained that “The decrease in income taxes for 2000 resulted primarily from a $60 million tax credit related to a redetermination of foreign sales corporation benefits and the resolution of various other tax issues.”28 ADM had a dispute with tax authorities over taxes for previous years, and it won. While there may be some ongoing benefit from this outcome, the $60 million should be viewed as nonrecurring in evaluating ADM’s earnings performance. Ongoing tax savings from its foreign sales corporations will continue to be realized and will be ref lected in the reduced level of the ADM effective tax rate. ADM’s 1998 effective tax rate was also increased by 1.4 percentage points as a result of fines and litigation settlements being deducted in arriving at pretax earnings. For income tax purposes, however, these amounts are not deductible, which means that unlike most other expenses these fines and settlements reduce after-tax earnings by the full amount of the expenses. There are no associated income tax savings, and the 1.4-percentage-point increase in the effective tax rate for 1998 is due to the nondeductible character of the litigation settlements and fines. The nonrecurring item in this case is simply the total of the fines and settlements. The tax benefit not realized because of the nondeductibility of the fines and settlements is not a separate nonrecurring item. ADM’s net income increased from about $266 million in 1999 to about $301 million in 2000. Without the $60 million nonrecurring tax benefit, ADM’s 2000 net income would have declined to $241 million: $301 million − $60 million = $241 million. Identifying and adjusting 2000 earnings for this nonrecurring tax benefit results in a far different message: a decline in earnings in contrast to the reported increase.
Slide 74: Analyzing Business Earnings 61 The benefit from the tax redetermination is clearly a nonrecurring item. The tax reductions due to the foreign sales corporation feature of the tax law may or may not be sustainable. Any profit component that relies on a specific feature of the current tax law should be viewed as somewhat vulnerable. That is, its continuance requires that (1) this feature of the tax law be preserved and (2) that ADM continues to take the actions necessary to earn these tax benefits. The ADM disclosures provide one example of a nonrecurring tax benefit plus at least one example of a benefit that may be somewhat more vulnerable than other sources of operating profit. Exhibit 2.19 provides a sampling of other nonrecurring tax benefits and tax charges that were found in recent company tax notes. The tax benefits of both Biogen and Dana result from utilizing loss carryforwards whose benefits had not previously been recognized. The losses that produced the tax savings originated in earlier periods. Because the likelihood of their realization was not sufficiently high, the potential tax savings of the losses were not recognized in the income statements in the years in which these losses were incurred. The subsequent realization of these benefits occurs when the operating and capital loss carryforwards are used to shield operating earnings and capital gains, respectively, from taxation. These benefits should be treated as nonrecurring in analyzing earnings performance for the year in which the benefits are realized. Gerber Scientific’s effective tax rate was reduced as a result of its recognizing benefits from research and development tax credits. This feature of the tax law is designed to encourage R&D spending. As with all other tax credits, continuation of this source of tax reduction requires that the feature continue to be part of the tax law and that Gerber make the R&D expenditures necessary to earn future benefits. The nonrecurring items of First Aviation Services and Micron Technology both result from adjustments of their tax valuation allowances. The allowance balances represent the portion of tax benefits that have been judged unlikely to be realized.29 Increasing this balance will create a nonrecurring tax EXHIBIT 2.19 Examples of nonrecurring income tax charges and benef its. Company Biogen Inc. (1999) Dana Corporation (1999) Detection Systems Inc. (2000) First Aviation Services Inc. (1999) The Fairchild Corporation (2000) Gerber Scientific Inc. (2000) M.A. Hanna Company (1999) Micron Technology Inc. (2000) Pall Corporation (2000) SOURCES: Nonrecurring Charge or Benefit Benefits from net operating loss utilization Capital loss utilization tax benefit Benefit from lower foreign tax rates Benefit from valuation allowance decrease Benefit from revision of estimate for tax accruals Research and development tax credit Benefit from reversal of tax liability—tax settlement Charge for valuation allowance increase Tax benefit of Puerto Rico operations Companies’ annual reports. The year following each company name designates the annual report from which the example was drawn.
Slide 75: 62 Understanding the Numbers charge; decreasing it, a benefit. The prospects for realization of the tax benefit must have declined for Micron Technology but improved for First Aviation Services. Both the Fairchild Corporation and M.A. Hanna Company tax benefits were the result of reducing previously recorded tax obligations. Subsequent information indicated that the liabilities where overstated. The liability reduction was offset by a comparable reduction in the tax provision. This benefit should also be viewed as nonrecurring. Pall Corporation has a tax reduction that is associated with operations located in Puerto Rico. In fact, most firms with operations in other countries produce such tax benefits. Foreign states offer these benefits to encourage companies, typically manufacturing companies, to locate within their borders. In many cases these benefits are for a limited period of time, though renewals are sometimes possible. As a result, while the benefits are real, there remains a possibility that they will cease at some point. In fact, Pall Corporation disclosed just such a change in its income tax note: The Company has two Puerto Rico subsidiaries that are organized as “possessions corporations” as defined in Section 936 of the Internal Revenue Code. The Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 repealed Section 936 of the Internal Revenue Code, which provided a tax credit for U.S. companies with operations in certain U.S. possessions, including Puerto Rico. For companies with existing qualifying Puerto Rico operations, such as Pall, Section 936 will be phased out over a period of several years, with a decreasing credit being available through the last taxable year beginning before January 1, 2006. This change in U.S. tax law means that previous tax benefits from the operations in Puerto Rico are not sustainable. When a company reports tax benefits because of operations in other countries, the possibility that the benefits might end or be reduced should be considered. NONR ECURR ING ITEMS IN THE OTHER INCOME AND EX PENSE NOTE An “other income (expense), net,” or equivalent line item is commonly found in both the single- and multistep income statement. In the case of the multistep format, the composition of other income and expenses is sometimes detailed on the face of the income statement. In both the multi- and single-step formats, the most typical presentation is a single line item with a supporting note. Even though a note detailing the contents of other income and expense may exist, companies typically do not specify its location. Other income and expense notes tend to be listed close to the end of the notes to the financial statements. The other income and expense note of The Sherwin-Williams Company is provided in Exhibit 2.20. The balance (income) of the Sherwin-Williams other income and expense note shows a modest increase between 1997 to 1998 and
Slide 76: Analyzing Business Earnings EXHIBIT 2.20 Composition of an other income and expense note: The Sherwin-Williams Company, years ended December 31 (in thousands). 1997 Dividend and royalty income Net expense of financing and investing activities Provisions for environmental matters, net Provisions for disposition and termination of operations Foreign currency transaction losses Miscellaneous $ (3,361) 3,688 107 4,152 15,580 3,199 $23,365 1998 $ (3,069) 2,542 695 12,290 11,773 1,815 $26,046 63 1999 $ (4,692) 7,084 15,402 3,830 3,333 4,583 $29,540 Note: Note references included in the Sher win-Williams this schedule have been omitted. SOURCE: The Sher win-Williams Company, annual report, December 1999, 30. 1998 to 1999. In the absence of sharp changes in the balance over time, an analyst would be less inclined to look for a note detailing the makeup of the balance on the face of the income statement. However, some large nonrecurring items underlie this net balance. Notice the very large increase in the provision for environmental matters. This increase is in turn offset in part by the sharp decline in the provision for disposition and termination of operations. Similarly, the foreign currency loss declined by about $12 million over the three years covered by the note. Some or all of the large 1999 increase in the provision for environmental matters should be considered to be nonrecurring. This would mean that results for 1999 would appear somewhat stronger with the provision added back to earnings. Some or all of the $12 million provision for disposition and termination of operations should also be added back to results for 1998. Foreign currency gains and losses usually are not treated as nonrecurring. However, the case was made in Exhibit 2.2 (Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company) for treating them as nonrecurring when they are very irregular, either in terms of amount or sign (i.e., gain versus loss). The Sherwin-Williams foreigncurrency loss declined by about $12 million between 1997 and 1999. Nonrecurring elements are included in at least three of the line items in the Sherwin-Williams other income and expense note. The net balance of the other income and expense line item has changed only modestly in the face of very substantial changes in the components of the net balance. The smooth and modest growth in this net balance contributes in turn to preserving the growth and stability of the bottom line, or net income. There is always the possibility that some of the offsetting balances in the Sherwin-Williams note were recorded for the purpose of producing smooth growth in this line item. The location and careful analysis of the other income and expense note is especially important in the case of income statements with very little detail. In this regard, firm size and the level of detail in the income statement appear to
Slide 77: 64 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 2.21 Composition of the other income and expense note: C.R. Bard Inc., years ended December 31 (in thousands). 1997 Interest income Foreign exchange (gains) losses Legal and patent settlements, net Asset write-down Restructuring Gains from sale of product lines and other Acquired R&D Other, net Total SOURCE: 1998 $(6,000) (2,100) (48,600) 34,100 3,200 — 6,400 10,100 $(2,900) 1999 $(2,100) (900) — 9,700 — — — (200) $ 6,500 $ (3,500) — 2,000 8,500 44,100 (24,500) — — $26,600 C.R. Bard Inc., annual report, December 1999, 27. be inversely related. For example, excluding subtotals and the bottom line of the income statement, C.R. Bard had a total of only eight line items on its 1997 to 1999 income statements. However, its other income and expense note (Exhibit 2.21) includes numerous nonrecurring items. A review only of C.R. Bard’s 1997 to 1999 income statements would have yielded a single nonrecurring item. Depending on what is judged to be nonrecurring, Bard’s other income and expense note yields an additional nine to eleven nonrecurring items. As with the Sherwin-Williams note, there is a tendency for nonrecurring items to offset each other. Notice that Bard booked a $24.5 million gain in 1997, when it also had a restructuring charge of $44.1 million. Also, an asset write-down of $34.1 million partially offset a $48.6 million gain from legal and patent settlements in 1998.30 Careful analysis of the composition of other income and expense line items is very important in locating nonrecurring items. As the disclosures of both Sherwin-Williams and C.R. Bard illustrate, this task is made far easier if a note is provided detailing the line item’s composition. However, you should not expect to be guided to the note by a reference attached to this line item in the income statement. NONR ECURR ING ITEMS IN MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS (MD&A) Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A) is an annual and a quarterly Securities and Exchange Commission reporting requirement. Provisions of this regulation have a direct bearing on the goal of locating nonrecurring items. As part of the MD&A, the SEC requires registrants to: Describe any unusual or infrequent events or transactions or any significant economic changes that materially affected the amount of reported income from
Slide 78: Analyzing Business Earnings 65 continuing operations and, in each case, indicate the extent to which income was so affected. In addition, describe any other significant components of revenues and expenses that, in the registrant’s judgment, should be described in order to understand the registrant’s results of operations.31 Complying with this regulation will require some firms to identify and discuss items that may have already been listed in other financial statements and notes. In reviewing the MD&A with a view to locating nonrecurring items, the analyst should focus on the section dealing with results of operations. Here management presents a comparison of results over the most recent three years; comparing, for example, 2001 with 2002 and 2002 with 2003 is standard. Locating nonrecurring items in MD&A is somewhat more difficult than locating them in other places. Typically the nonrecurring items in MD&A are discussed in text and are not set out in schedules or statements. However, a small number of firms do summarize nonrecurring items in schedules within MD&A. These tend to be more comprehensive and user-friendly than piecemeal disclosures embedded in text. The disclosure presented earlier in Exhibit 2.1 provided a restatement of the as-reported net income of Mason Dixon Bancshares. This restatement removed the effects of all items considered by Mason Dixon to be nonrecurring.32 This disclosure was found in the MD&A of Mason Dixon. An additional example of the disclosure of nonrecurring items from the MD&A of Phillips Petroleum Company is presented in Exhibit 2.22. Unlike Mason Dixon, Phillips Petroleum’s schedule simply presents a listing of their nonrecurring items. Phillips Petroleum uses the term “special items” to describe the items in Exhibit 2.22. The reluctance to refer to these items as “nonrecurring” is understandable. Four of the seven line items include amounts in each of the three EXHIBIT 2.22 Nonrecurring items included in MD&A of f inancial condition and results of operations: Phillips Petroleum Company, years ended December 31 (in millions). 1997 Kenai tax settlement Property impairments Tyonek prospect dry hole costs Net gains on asset sales Work force reduction charges Pending claims and settlements Other items Total special items $83 (46) — 16 (3) 15 — $65 1998 $115 (274) (71) 21 (60) 108 23 $(138) 1999 — $(34) — 73 (3) 35 (10) $61 Note: The above numbers have been presented on an after-tax basis. Also, in a footnote to this schedule, not provided here, Phillips disclosed that the 1997 and 1998 numbers had been restated to exclude foreign-currency transaction gains and losses. That is, they were previously considered to be special (nonrecurring) items but now are not. SOURCE: Phillips Petroleum Company, annual report, December 1999, 33.
Slide 79: 66 Understanding the Numbers years. This might seem inconsistent with the term nonrecurring. Phillips Petroleum provides the following explanation of the special items: Net income is affected by transactions defined by management and termed special items, which are not representative of the company’s ongoing operations. These transactions can obscure the underlying operating results for a period and affect comparability of operating results between periods.33 While Phillips Petroleum uses special to describe what we have referred to as nonrecurring, the above description of its special items is consistent with earlier discussion in this chapter. Phillips provided the following discussion of the effects of the information in Exhibit 2.22 on net income: Phillips’s net income was $609 million in 1999, up 157 percent from net income of $237 million in 1998. Special items benefited 1999 net income by $61 million, while reducing net income in 1998 by $138 million. After excluding these items, net operating income for 1999 was $548 million, a 46 percent increase over $375 million in 1998.34 The above comments reveal a sharply lower growth in profit in 1999 after adjusting for the effects of the nonrecurring (special) items. A 157% increase in net income drops to 46% after adjustment for the nonrecurring items. Notice that the above discussion refers to the adjusted net income numbers as the “net operating income.” This is consistent with the characterization of the special items as “not representative of the company’s ongoing operations.” Nevertheless, we will continue to use the term sustainable to refer to earnings that have been adjusted for nonrecurring items. Presenting information on nonrecurring items in MD&A schedules is still a fairly limited practice but may be on the rise.35 Though helpful in locating nonrecurring items, such schedules must be viewed as useful complements to but not substitutes for a complete search and restatement process. Textual discussion and disclosure of the effects on nonrecurring items on earnings is far more common than user-friendly schedules. The disclosures of C.R. Bard Inc. are illustrative: In 1999, Bard reported net income of $118.1 million or diluted earnings per share of $2.28. Excluding the impact of the after-tax gain on the sale of the cardiopulmonary business of $0.12 and the impact of the fourth quarter writedown of impaired assets of $0.11, diluted earnings per share was $2.27.36 Bard included information on revised results for each of the three years included in its 1999 annual report. The adjusted earnings-per-share series provides a better indicator of underlying trends in operating performance and is a more reliable base on which to develop projections of future earnings. The asreported and revised earnings-per-share information is summarized in Exhibit 2.23. As is common, the adjusted earnings, from which the effects of nonrecurring items have been removed, are less volatile.
Slide 80: Analyzing Business Earnings EXHIBIT 2.23 Reported and revised earnings per share: C.R. Bard Inc., years ended December 31. Adjusted Earnings per Share $1.67 1.76 2.27 67 Year 1997 1998 1999 SOURCE: As-Reported Earnings per Share $1.26 4.51 2.28 C.R. Bard Inc., annual report, December 1999. The discussion to this point has taken us through the first six steps in the nonrecurring-items search process outlined in Exhibit 2.3. The seventh and last step illustrates how additional nonrecurring items may sometimes be located in other selected notes to the financial statements. NONR ECURR ING ITEMS IN OTHER SELECTED NOTES Typically, most material nonrecurring items will have been located by proceeding through the first six steps of the search sequence in Exhibit 2.3. However, some additional nonrecurring items may be located in other notes. Nonrecurring items can surface in virtually any note to the financial statements. We will now discuss three selected notes that frequently contain other nonrecurring items: notes on foreign exchange, restructuring, and quarterly and segment financial data. Recall that inventory, income tax, and other income and expense notes have already been discussed in steps 3 to 5. Foreign Exchange Notes Foreign exchange gains and losses can result from both transaction and translation exposure. Transaction gains and losses result from either unhedged or partially hedged foreign-currency exposure.37 This exposure is created by items such as accounts receivable and accounts payable resulting from sales and purchases denominated in foreign currencies. As foreign-currency exchange rates change, the value of the foreign-currency assets and liabilities will expand and contract. This results, in turn, in foreign currency transaction gains and losses. This is the essence of the concept of currency exposure. Translation gains and losses result from either unhedged or partially hedged exposure associated with foreign subsidiaries. Translation exposure depends on the mix of assets and liabilities of the foreign subsidiary. In addition, the character of the operations of the foreign subsidiary and features of the foreign economy are also factors in determining both exposure and the translation method applied. There are two possible statement translation methods, and of the two only one results in translation gains or losses that appear as
Slide 81: 68 Understanding the Numbers part of net income. With the other method, the translation adjustment will be reported as part of other comprehensive income.38 Foreign-currency gains and losses can also result from the use of various currency contracts, such as forwards, futures, options, and swaps, entered into for both hedging and speculation. It is not uncommon to observe foreign exchange gains and losses year after year in a company’s income statement. The amounts of these items, however, as well as whether they are gains or losses are often very irregular, making them candidates for nonrecurring classification. To illustrate, a portion of a note titled “foreign currency translation” from the 1993 annual report of Dibrell Brothers Inc. follows: Net gains and losses arising from transaction adjustments are accumulated on a net basis by entity and are included in the Statement of Consolidated Income, Other Income—Sundry for gains, Other Deductions—Sundry for losses. For 1993, the transaction adjustments netted to a gain of $4,180,000. The transaction adjustments were losses of $565,000 and $206,000 for 1992 and 1991, respectively, and were primarily related to the Company’s Brazilian operations.39 The gains and losses disclosed above appeared as adjustments, ref lecting either their noncash or nonoperating character, in the operating activities of Dibrell’s statement of cash f lows. The effect of the 1993 currency exchange gain is also referenced in Dibrell’s MD&A as part of the comparison of earnings in 1993 to those in 1992.40 While appearing in each of the past three years, Dibrell’s foreigncurrency gains and losses were far from stable—two years of small losses followed by a year with a large gain. One way to gauge the significance of these exchange items is to compute their contribution to the growth in income before income taxes, extraordinary items, and cumulative effect of accounting changes. This computation is outlined for 1993 in Exhibit 2.24. EXHIBIT 2.24 Contribution of foreign-currency gains to pretax income from continuing operations: Dibrell Brothers Inc., years ended December 31. Pretax income from continuing operations 1993 1992 Increase Foreign-currency gains and losses 1993 gain 1992 loss Improvement Contribution of the improvement in foreign currency results to 1993 pretax income from continuing operations: $4,745,000/$15,012,700 $58,259,560 43,246,860 $15,012,700 $ 4,180,000 565,000 $ 4,745,000 32%
Slide 82: Analyzing Business Earnings 69 Dibrell’s currency gain made a major contribution to its profit growth in 1993. Hence, a separate note to the financial statements is devoted to its discussion and disclosure. Following the recommended search sequence, these items would be identified at step 2, the statement of cash f lows, or step 6, MD&A. If search failures occur at these steps, then examination of the foreign exchange note would be a backup to ensure that the important information contained in this note is available in assessing Dibrell’s 1993 performance. Restructuring Notes The past decade has been dominated by the corporate equivalent of a diet program. Call it streamlining, downsizing, rightsizing, redeploying, or strategic repositioning—the end result is that firms have been recording nonrecurring charges of a size and frequency that are unprecedented in our modern economic history. The size and scope of these activities ensure that they leave their tracks throughout the statements and notes. Notes on restructuring charges are among the most common transaction-specific notes. The Fairchild Corporation’s restructuring note is provided in Exhibit 2.25. A number of different items make up the Fairchild restructuring charge. Included are severance benefits, asset write-offs, and integration costs. Fairchild declares that the charges recorded in fiscal 2000 “were the direct result of formal plans to move equipment, close plants and to terminate employees.” This point is made to counter criticism that some restructuring charges go well beyond restructuring activities to accrue unrelated costs plus costs that should properly be charged against future operations. A tendency to overaccrue restructuring charges has a number of possible explanations. First, firms facing a poor year for profits may decide to take a “big EXHIBIT 2.25 Sample restructuring note: The Fairchild Corporation, year ended June 30, 2000 (in thousands). In fiscal 1999, we recorded $6,374 of restructuring charges. Of this amount, $500 was recorded at our corporate office for severance benefits and $348 was recorded at our aerospace distribution segment for the write-off of building improvements from premises vacated. The remaining $5,526 was recorded as a result of the Kaynar Technologies initial integration into our aerospace fasteners segment, i.e., for severance benefits ($3,932), for product integration costs incurred as of June 30, 1999 ($1,334) and for the write-down of fixed assets ($260). In fiscal 2000, we recorded $8,578 of restructuring charges as a result of the continued integration of Kaynar Technologies into our aerospace fasteners segment. All of the charges recorded during the current year were a direct result of product and plant integration costs incurred as of June 30, 2000. These costs were classified as restructuring and were the direct result of formal plans to move equipment, close plants and to terminate employees. Such costs are nonrecurring in nature. Other than a reduction in our existing cost structure, none of the restructuring charges resulted in future increases in earnings or represented an accrual of future costs. As of June 30, 2000, significantly all of our integration plans have been executed and our integration process is substantially complete. SOURCE: The Fairchild Corporation, annual report, June 2000, F-27.
Slide 83: 70 Understanding the Numbers bath” and recognize excessive amounts of restructuring costs. The assumption is that simply increasing a current-period loss will not have additional negative consequences for share values. Moreover, by writing off costs currently, future profits are relieved of this burden and will therefore look stronger. Restructuring charges have attracted the attention of the SEC. Arthur Levitt, chairman of the SEC, has registered strong objections against the use of overstated restructuring accruals to increase the earnings of subsequent periods.41 The chairman refers to these excessive reserves as “cookie jar” reserves.42 There has also been some resistance to considering restructuring charges to be nonrecurring. The very need for restructuring charges indicates that earnings in previous periods were overstated. Moreover, restructuring charges commonly recur with some frequency. Note that the Fairchild disclosure in Exhibit 2.25 reveals a second charge following the initial charge for the restructuring of Kaynar Technologies. In some circles restructuring charges are referred to as “cockroach” charges—from the old saying that if you see one cockroach there are many more where that one came from. Restructuring charges will continue to be common in income statements until the level of restructuring activity in the economy subsides. In the meantime, restructuring charges and associated reversals of charges should typically be treated as nonrecurring, even though they may appear with some repetition. At some point firms will complete the bulk of their restructuring activities, and the charges will either disappear or drop to immaterial levels. The materiality of most restructuring charges is such that it would be difficult to miss them. In the case of The Fairchild Corporation (Exhibit 2.25), the restructuring charges were disclosed in at least five separate locations as follows: 1. On a separate line item within the operating income section of the income statement (step one in the nonrecurring items search sequence). 2. Within the operating activities section of the statement of cash f lows, with the noncash portion of the charges added back to net earnings or loss (step 2 in the search sequence). 3. Disclosed in the section of the MD&A dealing with earnings (step 6 in the search sequence). 4. Disclosed in a separate note to the financial statements on restructuring charges (step 7[d]). 5. Disclosed in a note dealing with segment reporting (step 7[f] in the search sequence). Quarterly and Segmental Financial Data Quarterly and segmental financial disclosures frequently reveal nonrecurring items. In the case of segment disclosures, the goal is to aid in the evaluation of profitability trends by segments. The Fairchild Corporation discussion (Exhibit 2.25) disclosed its restructuring charges in the reports of segment results.
Slide 84: Analyzing Business Earnings 71 Quarterly financial data of Office Depot Inc. disclosed inventory writedowns of $56.1 million for the third quarter of 1999, a store closure and relocation charge of $46.4 million in the third quarter of 1999, and a $6.0 million reversal of the charge in the fourth quarter of 1999. Office Depot also disclosed merger and restructuring charges as part of the reporting for its segments.43 To complete this review of selected financial statement notes, we discuss one last item before illustrating the summarization of information on nonrecurring items and the development of the sustainable earnings series. This topic is the most recent standard-setting activity with a focus on the fundamental structure and content of the income statement. EAR NINGS ANALYSIS AND OTHER COMPR EHENSIVE INCOME The last section in the AK Steel Holdings income statement in Exhibit 2.9 is devoted to the reporting of other comprehensive income. This is a relatively new feature of the income statement and was introduced with the issuance by the FASB of SFAS No. 130, Reporting Comprehensive Income.44 The goal of the standard is to expand the concept of income to included selected items of nonrecurring revenue, gain, expense and loss. Under the new standard, traditional net income is combined with a new component, “other comprehensive income,” to produce a new bottom line, “comprehensive income.” The principal elements of other comprehensive income are listed in the other comprehensive income section of the AK Steel Holdings comprehensive income statement (Exhibit 2.9). They include: 1. Foreign currency translation adjustments.45 2. Unrealized gains and losses on certain securities. 3. Minimum pension liability adjustments. Each one of these items was already recognized prior to the issuance of SFAS No. 130. However, they were reported not as part of net income but directly in shareholders’ equity. The items made their way into the income statement only if they became realized gains or losses by, for example, selling securities. Notice that the AK Steel disclosures in Exhibit 2.9 list the reclassification of gains on securities that had previously been recognized in other comprehensive income. When these gains were realized they were reported in net income. However, since they had earlier been included in other comprehensive income, avoiding double counting them requires an adjustment to other comprehensive income in the year of sale. SFAS No. 130 permitted other comprehensive income to be reported in three different ways. The preferred alternative was the income statement format of AK Steel, though reporting other comprehensive income in a separate income statement was also permitted. The third option permitted other comprehensive income to be reported directly in shareholders’ equity. It should
Slide 85: 72 Understanding the Numbers come as no surprise that most firms have elected this third option. Firms have an aversion to including items in the income statement that have the potential to increase the volatility of earnings. Hence, given the option, firms can and did choose to avoid the income statement.46 There is scant evidence at this time that statement users pay any attention to other comprehensive income. Companies do not include other comprehensive income in discussions of their earnings performance, nor does the financial press comment on it when earnings are announced. Earnings per share statistics do not incorporate other comprehensive income. Other comprehensive income is not currently part of earnings analysis. Hence, we consider it no further. Attitudes may change, however, about the usefulness of other comprehensive income as analysts and others become more familiar with these relatively new disclosures. It seems worthwhile to at least be made aware of these disclosures as part of a thorough treatment of income statement structure and content. With the structure of the income statement and relevant GAAP now reviewed, the nature of nonrecurring items considered, and methods of locating nonrecurring items outlined and illustrated, we can turn to the task of developing the sustainable earnings series. SUMMAR IZING NONR ECURR ING ITEMS AND DETERMINING SUSTAINABLE EAR NINGS The work to this point has laid out important background but is not complete. Still required is a device to assist in summarizing information discovered on nonrecurring items so that new measures of sustainable earnings can be developed. We devote the balance of this chapter to introducing a worksheet specially designed to summarize nonrecurring items and illustrating its development and interpretation in a case study.47 THE SUSTAINABLE EAR NINGS WOR KSHEET The sustainable earnings worksheet is shown in Exhibit 2.26. Detailed instructions on completing the worksheet follow: 1. Net income or loss is recorded on the top line of the worksheet. 2. All identified items of nonrecurring expense or loss, which were included in the income statement on a pretax basis, are recorded on the “add” lines provided. Where a prelabeled line is not listed in the worksheet, a descriptive phrase should be recorded on one of the “other” lines and the amounts recorded there. In practice, the process of locating nonrecurring items and recording them on the worksheet would take place at the same time. However, effective use of the worksheet calls for the background provided earlier in the chapter. This explains the separation of these steps in this chapter.
Slide 86: Analyzing Business Earnings EXHIBIT 2.26 Adjustment worksheet for sustainable earnings base. Year Reported net income or (loss) Add Pretax LIFO liquidation losses Losses on sales of fixed assets Losses on sales of investments Losses on sales of other asset Restructuring charges Investment write-downs Inventory write-downs Other asset write-downs Foreign currency losses Litigation charges Losses on patent infringement suits Exceptional bad-debt provisions Nonrecurring expense increases Temporary revenue reductions Other Other Other Subtotal Multiply by (1-combined federal, state tax rates) Tax-adjusted additions Add After-tax LIFO liquidation losses Increases in deferred tax valuation allowances Other nonrecurring tax charges Losses on discontinued operations Extraordinary losses Losses/cumulative-effect accounting changes Other Other Other Subtotal Total additions Deduct Pretax LIFO liquidation gains Gains on fixed asset sales Gains on sales of investments Gains on sales of other assets Reversals of restructuring accruals Investment write-ups (trading account) Foreign currency gains Litigation revenues Year 73 Year (continued)
Slide 87: 74 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 2.26 (Continued) Year Gains on patent infringement suits Temporary expense decreases Temporary revenue increases Reversals of bad-debt allowances Other Other Other Subtotal Multiply by Times (1-combined federal, state tax rate) Tax-adjusted deductions After-tax LIFO liquidation gains Reductions in deferred tax valuation allowances Loss carryforward benefits from prior years Other nonrecurring tax benefits Gains on discontinued operations Extraordinary gains Gains/cumulative-effect accounting changes Other Other Other Subtotal Total deductions Sustainable earnings base Year Year 3. When all pretax nonrecurring expenses and losses have been recorded, subtotals should be computed. These subtotals are then multiplied times 1 minus a representative combined federal, state, and foreign income-tax rate. This puts these items on an after-tax basis so that they are stated on the same basis as net income or net loss. 4. The results from step 3 should be recorded on the line titled “tax-adjusted additions.” 5. All after-tax nonrecurring expenses or losses are next added separately. These items are either tax items or special income-statement items that are disclosed on an after-tax basis under GAAP, such as discontinued operations, extraordinary items, or the cumulative effect of accounting changes. The effects of LIFO liquidations are sometimes presented pretax and sometimes after-tax. Note that a line item is provided for the effect of LIFO liquidations in both the pretax and after-tax additions section of the worksheet.
Slide 88: Analyzing Business Earnings 75 6. Changes in deferred-tax-valuation allowances are recorded in the taxadjusted additions (or deductions) section only if such changes affected net income or net loss for the period. Evidence of an income-statement impact will usually take the form of an entry in the income tax ratereconciliation schedule. 7. The next step is to subtotal the entries for after-tax additions and then combine this subtotal with the amount labeled “tax adjusted additions.” The result is then recorded on the “total additions” line at the bottom of the first page of the worksheet. 8. Completion of page 2 of the worksheet, for nonrecurring revenues and gains, follows exactly the same steps as those outlined for nonrecurring expense and loss. 9. With the completion of page 2, the sustainable earnings base for each year is computed by adding the “total additions” line item to net income (loss) and then deducting the “total deductions” line item. ROLE OF THE SUSTAINABLE EAR NINGS BASE The sustainable earnings base provides earnings information from which the distorting effects of nonrecurring items have been removed. Some analysts refer to such revised numbers as representing “core” or “underlying” earnings. Sustainable is used here in the sense that earnings devoid of nonrecurring items of revenue, gain, expense, and loss are much more likely to be maintained in the future, other things equal. Base implies that sustainable earnings provide the most reliable foundation or starting point for projections of future results. The more reliable such forecasts become, the less the likelihood that earnings surprises will result. Again, Phillips Petroleum captures the essence of nonrecurring items in the following: Net income is affected by transactions defined by management and termed “special items,” which are not representative of the company’s ongoing operations. These transactions can obscure the underlying operating results for a period and affect comparability of operating results between periods.48 APPLICATION OF THE SUSTAINABLE EAR NINGS BASE WOR KSHEET: BAK ER HUGHES INC. This case example of using the SEB worksheet is based on the 1997 annual report of Baker Hughes Inc. and its results for 1995 to 1997. The income statement, statement of cash f lows, management’s discussion and analysis of results of operations (MD&A), and selected notes are in Exhibits 2.27 through 2.34. Further, to reinforce the objective of efficiency in financial analysis, we adhere to the search sequence outlined in Exhibit 2.3.
Slide 89: 76 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 2.27 Consolidated statements of operations: Baker Hughes Inc., years ended September 30 (in millions). 1995 Revenues: Sales Services and rentals Total Costs and expenses: Costs of sales Costs of services and rentals Selling, general, and administrative Amortization of goodwill and other intangibles Unusual charge Acquired in-process research and development Total Operating income Interest expense Interest income Gain on sale of Varco stock Income before income taxes and cumulative effect of accounting changes Income taxes Income before cumulative effect of accounting changes Cumulative effect of accounting changes: Impairment of long-lived assets to be disposed of (net of $6.0 income tax benefit) Postemployment benefits (net of $7.9 income tax benefit) Net income SOURCE: 1996 $2,046.8 980.9 $3,027.7 1997 $2,466.7 1,218.7 $3,685.4 $1,805.1 832.4 $2,637.5 $1,133.6 475.1 743.0 29.9 — $2,381.6 $ 255.9 (55.6) 4.8 — 205.1 (85.1) 120.0 $1,278.1 559.5 814.2 29.6 39.6 — $2,721.0 $ 306.7 (55.5) 3.4 44.3 298.9 (122.5) 176.4 $1,573.3 682.9 966.9 32.3 52.1 118.0 $3,425.5 $ 259.9 (48.6) 1.8 — 213.1 (104.0) 109.1 (12.1) (14.6) $ 105.4 — $ 176.4 $ — 97.0 Baker Hughes Inc., annual report, September 1997, 37. Most of the content of the Baker Hughes financial statements as well as relevant footnote and other textual information is provided. This is designed to make the exercise as realistic as possible. THE BAK ER HUGHES WOR KSHEET ANALYSIS The nonrecurring items located in the Baker Hughes annual report are enumerated in the completed SEB worksheet in Exhibit 2.35. Each of the nonrecurring items is recorded on the SEB worksheet. When an item is disclosed for the first, second, third, or fourth time, it is designated by a corresponding superscript
Slide 90: Analyzing Business Earnings EXHIBIT 2.28 Consolidated statements of cash f lows (operating activities only): Baker Hughes Inc., years ended September 30 (in millions). 1995 Cash Flows from Operating Activities: Net income Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash f lows from operating activities: Depreciation and amortization of: Property Other assets and debt discount Deferred income taxes Noncash portion of unusual charge Acquired in-process research and development Gain on sale of Varco stock Gain on disposal of assets Foreign currency translation (gain)/loss-net Cumulative effect of accounting changes Change in receivables Change in inventories Change in accounts payable Changes in other assets and liabilities Net cash f lows from operating activities SOURCE: 77 1996 1997 $105.4 $176.4 $97.0 $114.2 40.4 44.8 $115.9 39.9 30.2 25.3 (44.3) (31.7) 8.9 (84.1) (73.8) 22.6 9.4 $194.7 $143.9 42.1 (6.8) 32.7 118.0 (18.4) (6.1) 12.1 (129.8) (114.9) 65.3 (35.6) $199.5 (18.3) 1.9 14.6 (94.7) (79.9) 51.7 (52.9) $127.2 Baker Hughes Inc., annual report, September 1997, 40. in a summary of the search process provided in Exhibit 2.36. For purposes of illustration, all nonrecurring items have been recorded on the SEB worksheet without regard to their materiality. We have followed this procedure because a materiality threshold would exclude a series of either immaterial gains or losses that could, in combination, distort a firm’s apparent profitability. An effort is made to consider the possible effects of materiality in a report on the efficiency of the search process presented in Exhibit 2.37. Without adjustment, Baker Hughes’s income statement reports net income of $105.4 million in 1995, $176.4 million in 1996, and $97.0 million in 1997. The impression obtained is a company with a volatile earnings stream and no apparent growth. However, the complete adjustment for nonrecurring items conveys quite a different message. After restatement, sustainable earnings amount to $97.4 million in 1995, $158.6 million in 1996, and $241.3 million in 1997. This suggests that profits are in fact growing, though acquisitions have contributed to this result. It should be clear that the number and magnitude of nonrecurring items identified in the Baker Hughes annual report caused its unanalyzed earnings data to be unreliable indicators of profit performance. Without the comprehensive identification of nonrecurring items and the development of the SEB
Slide 91: 78 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 2.29 Income tax note: Baker Hughes Inc., years ended September 30 (in millions). The geographical sources of income before income taxes and cumulative effect of accounting changes are as follows: 1995 United States Foreign Total The provision for income taxes is as follows: 1995 Current: United States Foreign Total current Deferred: United States Foreign Total deferred Total provision for income taxes $ 3.7 36.6 40.3 42.1 2.7 44.8 $ 85.1 1996 $ 40.1 52.2 92.3 20.7 9.5 30.2 $122.5 1997 $ 46.5 64.3 110.8 (.2) (6.6) (6.8) $104.0 $128.3 76.8 $205.1 1996 $116.4 182.5 $298.9 1997 $ 20.6 192.5 $213.1 The provision for income taxes differs from the amount computed by applying the U.S. statutory income tax rate to income before income taxes and cumulative effect of accounting changes for the reasons set forth below: 1995 Statutory income tax Nondeductible acquired in-process research and development charge Incremental effect of foreign operations 1992 and 1993 IRS audit agreement Nondeductible goodwill amortization State income taxes, net of U.S. tax benefit Operating loss and credit carryforwards Other, net Total provision for income taxes $ 71.8 1996 $104.6 1997 $ 74.6 41.3 (6.5) (11.4) 4.5 2.9 (4.2) 2.8 $104.0 24.8 4.2 1.0 (13.1) (3.6) $ 85.1 12.5 5.4 2.1 (3.3) 1.2 $122.5 Deferred income taxes ref lect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes, and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. The tax effects of the Company’s temporary differences and carryforwards are as follows:
Slide 92: Analyzing Business Earnings EXHIBIT 2.29 (Continued) 1996 Deferred tax liabilities: Property Other assets Excess costs arising from acquisitions Undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries Other Total Deferred tax assets: Receivables Inventory Employee benefits Other accrued expenses Operating loss carryforwards Tax credit carryforwards Other Subtotal Valuation allowance Total Net deferred tax liability $ 62.3 57.7 64.0 41.3 37.4 $262.7 $ 4.1 72.4 44.0 20.2 16.6 30.8 15.9 79 1997 $ 90.6 147.5 67.6 41.3 36.5 $ 383.5 $ 2.8 72.4 21.5 40.6 9.0 15.9 34.9 $204.0 (13.1) 190.9 $ 71.8 $ 197.1 (5.7) 191.4 $ 192.1 A valuation allowance is recorded when it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of the deferred tax assets depends on the ability to generate sufficient taxable income of the appropriate character in the future. The Company has reserved the operating loss carryforwards in certain non-U.S. jurisdictions where its operations have decreased, currently ceased or the Company has withdrawn entirely. Provision has been made for U.S. and additional foreign taxes for the anticipated repatriation of certain earnings of foreign subsidiaries of the Company. The Company considers the undistributed earnings of its foreign subsidiaries above the amounts already provided for to be permanently reinvested. These additional foreign earnings could become subject to additional tax if remitted, or deemed remitted, as a dividend; however, the additional amount of taxes payable is not practicable to estimate. SOURCE: Baker Hughes Inc., annual report, September 1997, 48 – 49.
Slide 93: 80 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 2.30 Management’s discussion and analysis (excerpts from results of operations section): Baker Hughes Inc., years ended September 30 (in millions). Revenues 1997 versus 1996 Consolidated revenues for 1997 were $3,685.4 million, an increase of 22% over 1996 revenues of $3,027.7 million. Sales revenues were up $419.9 million, an increase of 21%, and services and rental revenues were up $237.8 million, an increase of 24%. Approximately 64% of the Company’s 1997 consolidated revenues were derived from international activities. The three 1997 acquisitions contributed $192.1 million of the revenue improvement. Oilfield Operations 1997 revenues were $2,862.6 million, an increase of 19.4% over 1996 revenues of $2,397.9 million. Excluding the Drilex acquisition, which accounted for $70.5 million of the revenue improvement, the revenue growth of 16.4% outpaced the 14.4% increase in the worldwide rig count. In particular, revenues in Venezuela increased 37.6%, or $58.6 million, as that country continues to work towards its stated goal of significantly increasing oil production. Chemical revenues were $417.2 million in 1997, an increase of 68.5% over 1996 revenues of $247.6 million. The Petrolite acquisition was responsible for $91.6 million of the improvement. Revenue growth excluding the acquisition was 31.5% driven by the strong oilfield market and the impact of acquiring the remaining portion of a Venezuelan joint venture in 1997. This investment was accounted for on the equity method in 1996. Process Equipment revenues for 1997 were $386.1 million, an increase of 9.4% over 1996 revenues of $352.8 million. Excluding revenues from 1997 acquisitions of $32.7 million, revenues were f lat compared to the prior year due to weakness in the pulp and paper industry combined with delays in customers’ capital spending. 1996 versus 1995 Consolidated revenues for 1996 increased $390.2 million, or 14.8%, over 1995. Sales revenues were up 13.4% and services and rentals revenues were up 17.8%. International revenues accounted for approximately 65% of 1996 consolidated revenues. Oilfield Operations revenues increased $325.7 million or 15.7% over 1995 revenues of $2,072.2 million. Activity was particularly strong in several key oilfield regions of the world including the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico and Nigeria where revenues were up $93.4 million, $56.8 million and $30.1 million, respectively. Strong drilling activity drove a $35.5 million increase in Venezuelan revenues. Chemical revenues rose $23.9 million, or 10.7% over 1995 revenues as its oilfield business benefited from increased production levels in the U.S. Process Equipment revenues for 1996 increased 10.4% over 1995 revenues of $319.6 million. Excluding revenues from 1996 acquisitions of $21.5 million, revenues increased 3.7%. The growth in the minerals processing and pulp and paper industry slowed from the prior year. Costs and Expenses Applicable to Revenues Costs of sales and costs of services and rentals have increased in 1997 and 1996 from the prior years in line with the related revenue increases. Gross margin percentages, excluding the effect of a nonrecurring item in 1997, have increased from 39.0% in 1995 to 39.3% in 1996 and 39.4% in 1997. The nonrecurring item relates to finished goods inventory acquired in the Petrolite acquisition that was increased by $21.9 million to its estimated selling price. The Company sold the inventory in the fourth quarter of 1997 and, as such, the $21.9 million is included in cost of sales in 1997.
Slide 94: Analyzing Business Earnings EXHIBIT 2.30 (Continued) Selling, General, and Administrative 81 Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expense increased $152.7 million in 1997 from 1996 and $71.2 million in 1996 from 1995. The three 1997 acquisitions were responsible for $54.3 million of the 1997 increase. As a percent of consolidated revenues, SG&A was 26.2%, 26.9% and 28.2% in 1997, 1996 and 1995, respectively. Excluding the impact of acquisitions, the Company added approximately 2,500 employees during 1997 to keep pace with the increased activity levels. As a result, employee training and development efforts increased in 1997 as compared to the previous two years. These increases were partially offset by $4.1 million of foreign exchange gains in 1997 compared to foreign exchange losses of $11.4 million in 1996 due to the devaluation of the Venezuelan Bolivar. The three-year cumulative rate of inf lation in Mexico exceeded 100% for the year ended December 31, 1996; therefore, Mexico is considered to be a highly inf lationary economy. Effective December 31, 1996, the functional currency for the Company’s investments in Mexico was changed from the Mexican Peso to the U.S. Dollar. Amortization Expense Amortization expense in 1997 increased $2.7 million from 1996 due to the Petrolite acquisition. Amortization expense in 1996 remained comparable to 1995 as no significant acquisitions or dispositions were made during those two years. Unusual Charge 1997: During the fourth quarter of 1997, the Company recorded an unusual charge of $52.1 million. In connection with the acquisitions of Petrolite, accounted for as a purchase, and Drilex, accounted for as a pooling of interests, the Company recorded unusual charges of $35.5 million and $7.1 million, respectively, to combine the acquired operations with those of the Company. The charges include the cost of closing redundant facilities, eliminating or relocating personnel and equipment and rationalizing inventories that require disposal at amounts less than their cost. A $9.5 million charge was also recorded as a result of the decision to discontinue a low margin, oilfield product line in Latin America and to sell the Tracor Europa subsidiary, a computer peripherals operations, which resulted in a write-down of the investment to its net realizable value. Cash provisions of the unusual charge totaled $19.4 million. The Company spent $5.5 million in 1997 and expects to spend substantially all of the remaining $13.9 million in 1998. Such expenditures relate to specific plans and clearly defined actions and will be funded from operations and available credit facilities. 1996: During the third quarter of 1996, the Company recorded an unusual charge of $39.6 million. The charge consisted primarily of the write-off of $8.5 million of Oilfield Operations patents that no longer protected commercially significant technology, a $5.0 million impairment of a Latin America joint venture due to changing market conditions in the region in which it operates and restructuring charges totaling $24.1 million. The restructuring charges include the downsizing of Baker Hughes INTEQ’s Singapore and Paris operations, a reorganization of EIMCO Process Equipment’s Italian operations and the consolidation of certain Baker Oil Tools manufacturing operations. Noncash provisions of the charge totaled $25.3 million and consist primarily of the write-down of assets to net realizable value. The remaining $14.3 million of the charge represents future cash expenditures related to severance under existing benefit arrangements, the relocation of people and equipment and abandoned leases. The Company spent $4.2 million of the cash during 1996, $6.3 million in 1997 and expects to spend the remaining $3.8 million in 1998. (continued)
Slide 95: EXHIBIT 2.30 (Continued) Acquired In-Process Research and Development In the Petrolite acquisition, the Company allocated $118.0 million of the purchase price to in-process research and development. In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, the Company recorded the acquired in-process research and development as a charge to expense because its technological feasibility had not been established and it had no alternative future use at the date of acquisition. Interest Expense Interest expense in 1997 decreased $6.9 million from 1996 due to lower average debt levels, primarily as a result of the maturity of the 4.125% Swiss Franc Bonds in June 1996. Interest expense in 1996 remained comparable to 1995 as slightly higher average debt balances were offset by a slightly lower weighted average interest rate. Gain on Sale of Varco Stock In May 1996, the Company sold 6.3 million shares of Varco International, Inc. (“ Varco”) common stock, representing its entire investment in Varco. The Company received net proceeds of $95.5 million and recognized a pretax gain of $44.3 million. The Company’s investment in Varco was accounted for using the equity method. Equity income included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations for 1996 and 1995 was $1.8 million and $3.2 million, respectively. Income Taxes During 1997, the Company reached an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) regarding the audit of its 1992 and 1993 U.S. consolidated income tax returns. The principal issue in the examination related to intercompany pricing on the transfer of goods and services between U.S. and non-U.S. subsidiary companies. As a result of the agreement, the Company recognized a tax benefit through the reversal of deferred income taxes previously provided of $11.4 million ($.08 per share) in the quarter ended June 30, 1997. The effective income tax rate for 1997 was 48.8% as compared to 41.0% in 1996 and 41.5% in 1995. The increase in the rate for 1997 is due in large part to the nondeductible charge for the acquired in-process research and development related to the Petrolite acquisition offset by the IRS agreement as explained above. The effective rates differ from the federal statutory rate in all years due primarily to taxes on foreign operations and nondeductible goodwill amortization. The Company expects the effective income tax rate in 1998 to be between 38% and 39%. SOURCE: Baker Hughes Inc., annual report, September 1997, 30–32. EXHIBIT 2.31 Summar y of signif icant accounting policies note (partial): Baker Hughes Inc., years ended September 30 (in millions). Impairment of assets: The Company adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 121, Accounting for the Impairment of Long-lived Assets and for Long-lived Assets to be Disposed Of, effective October 1, 1996. The statement sets forth guidance as to when to recognize an impairment of long-lived assets, including goodwill, and how to measure such an impairment. The methodology set forth in SFAS No. 121 is not significantly different from the Company’s prior policy and, therefore, the adoption of SFAS No. 121 did not have a significant impact on the consolidated financial statements as it relates to impairment of long-lived assets used in operations. However, SFAS No. 121 also addresses the accounting for long-lived assets to be disposed of and requires these assets to be carried at the lower of cost or fair market value, rather than the lower of cost or net realizable value, the method that was previously used by the Company. The Company recognized a charge to income of $12.1 million ($.08 per share), net of a tax benefit of $6.0 million, as the cumulative effect of a change in accounting in the first quarter of 1997. SOURCE: Baker Hughes Inc., annual report, September 1997, 41.
Slide 96: Analyzing Business Earnings 83 EXHIBIT 2.32 Acquisitions and dispositions note: Baker Hughes Inc., years ended September 30 (in millions). 1997 Petrolite In July 1997, the Company acquired Petrolite Corporation (“Petrolite”) and Wm. S. Barnickel & Company (“Barnickel”), the holder of 47.1% of Petrolite’s common stock, for 19.3 million shares of the Company’s common stock having a value of $730.2 million in a three-way business combination accounted for using the purchase method of accounting. Additionally, the Company assumed Petrolite’s outstanding vested and unvested employee stock options that were converted into the right to acquire 1.0 million shares of the Company’s common stock. Such assumption of Petrolite options by the Company had a fair market value of $21.0 million resulting in total consideration in the acquisitions of $751.2 million. Petrolite, previously a publicly held company, is a manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals used in the petroleum and process industries. Barnickel was a privately held company that owned marketable securities, which were sold after the acquisition, in addition to its investment in Petrolite. The purchase price has been allocated to the assets purchased and the liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair market values at the date of acquisition as follows (millions of dollars): Working capital Property Prepaid pension cost Intangible assets Other assets In-process research and development Goodwill Debt Deferred income taxes Other liabilities Total $ 64.5 170.1 80.3 126.0 89.6 118.0 263.7 (31.7) (106.7) (22.6) $751.2 In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, the amount allocated to inprocess research and development, which was determined by an independent valuation, has been recorded as a charge to expense in the fourth quarter of 1997 because its technological feasibility had not been established and it had no alternative future use at the date of acquisition. The Company incurred certain liabilities as part of the plan to combine the operations of Petrolite with those of the Company. These liabilities relate to the Petrolite operations and include severance of $13.8 million for redundant marketing, manufacturing and administrative personnel, relocation of $5.8 million for moving equipment and transferring marketing and technology personnel, primarily from St. Louis to Houston, and environmental remediation of $16.5 million for redundant properties and facilities that will be sold. Cash spent during the fourth quarter of 1997 totaled $7.7 million. The Company anticipates completing these activities in 1998, except for some environmental remediation that will occur in 1998 and 1999. The operating results of Petrolite and Barnickel are included in the 1997 consolidated statement of operations from the acquisition date, July 2, 1997. The following unaudited pro forma information combines the results of operations of the Company, Petrolite and Barnickel assuming the acquisitions had occurred at the beginning of the periods presented. The pro forma summary does not necessarily ref lect the results that would have occurred had the acquisitions been completed for the periods presented, nor do they purport to be indicative of the results that will be obtained in the future, and excludes certain nonrecurring charges related to the acquisition which have an after tax impact of $155.2 million. (continued)
Slide 97: EXHIBIT 2.32 (Continued) (Millions of dollars, except per share amounts) 1996 Revenues Income before accounting change Income per share before accounting change $3,388.4 189.3 1.16 1997 $3,944.0 283.9 1.69 In connection with the acquisition of Petrolite, the Company recorded an unusual charge of $35.5 million. See Note 5 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. Environmental Technology Division of Deutz AG In July 1997, the Company acquired the Environmental Technology Division, a decanter centrifuge and dryer business, of Deutz AG (“ETD”) for $53.0 million, subject to certain postclosing adjustments. This acquisition is now part of Bird Machine Company and has been accounted for using the purchase method of accounting. Accordingly, the cost of the acquisition has been allocated to assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair market values at the date of acquisition, July 7, 1997. The operating results of ETD are included in the 1997 consolidated statement of operations from the acquisition date. Pro forma results of the acquisition have not been presented as the pro forma revenue, income before accounting change and earnings per share would not be materially different from the Company’s actual results. For its most recent fiscal year ended December 31, 1996, ETD had revenues of $103.0 million. Drilex In July 1997, the Company acquired Drilex International Inc. (“Drilex”) a provider of products and services used in the directional and horizontal drilling and workover of oil and gas wells for 2.7 million shares of the Company’s common stock. The acquisition was accounted for using the pooling of interests method of accounting. Under this method of accounting, the historical cost basis of the assets and liabilities of the Company and Drilex are combined at recorded amounts and the results of operations of the combined companies for 1997 are included in the 1997 consolidated statement of operations. The historical results of the separate companies for years prior to 1997 are not combined because the retained earnings and results of operations of Drilex are not material to the consolidated financial statements of the Company. In connection with the acquisition of Drilex, the Company recorded an unusual charge of $7.1 million for transaction and other one time costs associated with the acquisition. See Note 5 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. For its fiscal year ended December 31, 1996 and 1995, Drilex had revenues of $76.1 million and $57.5 million, respectively. 1996 In April 1996, the Company purchased the assets and stock of a business operating as Vortoil Separation Systems, and certain related oil /water separation technology, for $18.8 million. In June 1996, the Company purchased the stock of KTM Process Equipment, Inc., a centrifuge company, for $14.1 million. These acquisitions are part of Baker Hughes Process Equipment Company and have been accounted for using the purchase method of accounting. Accordingly, the costs of the acquisitions have been allocated to assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair market values at the dates of acquisition. The operating results are included in the consolidated statements of operations from the respective acquisition dates. In April 1996, the Company exchanged the 100,000 shares of Tuboscope Inc. (“Tuboscope”) Series A convertible preferred stock held by the Company since October 1991, for 1.5 million shares of Tuboscope common stock and a warrant to purchase 1.25 million shares of Tuboscope common stock. The warrants are exercisable at $10 per share and expire on December 31, 2000. SOURCE: Baker Hughes Inc., annual report, September 1997, 43– 45. 84
Slide 98: EXHIBIT 2.33 Unusual charges note: Baker Hughes Inc., years ended September 30 (in millions). 1997 During the fourth quarter of 1997, the Company recognized a $52.1 million unusual charge consisting of the following (millions of dollars): Baker Petrolite: Severance for 140 employees Relocation of people and equipment Environmental Abandoned leases Integration costs Inventory write-down Write-down of other assets Drilex: Write-down of property and other assets Banking and legal fees Discontinued product lines: Severance for 50 employees Write-down of inventory, property and other assets Total $ 2.2 3.4 5.0 1.5 2.8 11.3 9.3 4.1 3.0 1.5 8.0 $52.1 In connection with the acquisitions of Petrolite and Drilex, the Company recorded unusual charges of $35.5 million and $7.1 million, respectively, to combine the acquired operations with those of the Company. The charges include the cost of closing redundant facilities, eliminating or relocating personnel and equipment and rationalizing inventories that require disposal at amounts less than their cost. A $9.5 million charge was recorded as a result of the decision to discontinue a low margin, oilfield product line in Latin America and to sell the Tracor Europa subsidiary, a computer peripherals operation, which resulted in a write-down of the investment to net realizable value. Cash provisions of the unusual charge totaled $19.4 million. The Company spent $5.5 million in 1997 and expects to spend substantially all of the remaining $13.9 million in 1998. 1996 During the third quarter of 1996, the Company recognized a $39.6 million unusual charge consisting of the following (millions of dollars): Patent write-off Impairment of joint venture Restructurings: Severance for 360 employees Relocation of people and equipment Abandoned leases Inventory write-down Write-down of assets Other Total $ 8.5 5.0 7.1 2.3 2.8 1.5 10.4 2.0 $39.6 The Company has certain oilfield operations patents that no longer protect commercially significant technology resulting in the write-off of $8.5 million. A $5.0 million impairment of a Latin America joint venture was recorded due to changing market conditions in the region in which it operates. The Company recorded a $24.1 million restructuring charge including the downsizing of Baker Hughes INTEQ’s Singapore and Paris operations, a reorganization of EIMCO Process Equipment’s Italian operations and the consolidation of certain Baker Oil Tools manufacturing operations. Cash provisions of the charge totaled $14.3 million. The Company spent $4.2 million in 1996, $6.3 million in 1997 and expects to spend the remaining $3.8 million in 1998. SOURCE: Baker Hughes Inc., annual report, September 1997, 45. 85
Slide 99: 86 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 2.34 Segment and related information note: Baker Hughes Inc., years ended September 30 (in millions). NOTE 10 Segment and Related Information The Company adopted SFAS No. 131, Disclosures about Segments of an Enterprise and Related Information, in 1997 which changes the way the Company reports information about its operating segments. The information for 1996 and 1995 has been restated from the prior year ’s presentation in order to conform to the 1997 presentation. The Company’s nine business units have separate management teams and infrastructures that offer different products and services. The business units have been aggregated into three reportable segments (oilfield, chemicals and process equipment) since the long-term financial performance of these reportable segments is affected by similar economic conditions. Oilfield: This segment consists of five business units—Baker Hughes INTEQ, Baker Oil Tools, Baker Hughes Solutions, Centrilift and Hughes Christensen—that manufacture and sell equipment and provide services and solutions used in the drilling, completion, production and maintenance of oil and gas wells. The principle markets for this segment include all major oil and gas producing regions of the world including North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa and the Far East. Customers include major multinational, independent and national or state-owned oil companies. Chemicals: Baker Petrolite is the sole business unit reported in this segment. They manufacture specialty chemicals for inclusion in the sale of integrated chemical technology solutions for petroleum production, transportation and refining. The principle geographic markets for this segment include all major oil and gas producing regions of the world. This segment also provides chemical technology solutions to other industrial markets throughout the world including petrochemicals, steel, fuel additives, plastics, imaging and adhesives. Customers include major multinational, independent and national or state-owned oil companies as well as other industrial manufacturers. Process Equipment: This segment consists of three business units—EIMCO Process Equipment, Bird Machine Company and Baker Hughes Process Systems—that manufacture and sell process equipment for separating solids from liquids and liquids from liquids through filtration, sedimentation, centrifugation and f loatation processes. The principle markets for this segment include all regions of the world where there are significant industrial and municipal wastewater applications and base metals activity. Customers include municipalities, contractors, engineering companies and pulp and paper, minerals, industrial and oil and gas producers. The accounting policies of the reportable segments are the same as those described in Note 1 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. The Company evaluates the performance of its operating segments based on income before income taxes, accounting changes, nonrecurring items and interest income and expense. Intersegment sales and transfers are not significant. Summarized financial information concerning the Company’s reportable segments is shown in the following table. The “Other” column includes corporate related items, results of insignificant operations and, as it relates to segment profit (loss), income and expense not allocated to reportable segments (millions of dollars). 1997 Revenues Segment profit (loss) Total assets Capital expenditures Depreciation and amortization $2,862.6 416.8 3,014.3 289.7 143.2 $417.2 41.9 1,009.5 24.8 20.5 $386.1 36.3 363.7 6.4 8.4 $19.5 (281.9) 368.8 21.8 4.1 $3,685.4 213.1 4,756.3 342.7 176.2
Slide 100: Analyzing Business Earnings EXHIBIT 2.34 (Continued) 1996 Revenues Segment profit (loss) Total assets Capital expenditures Depreciation and amortization 1995 Revenues Segment profit (loss) Total assets Capital expenditures Depreciation and amortization $2,397.9 329.1 2,464.6 157.5 123.6 $2,072.2 249.6 2,423.7 119.1 123.9 $247.6 23.3 270.3 16.6 12.2 $223.7 17.8 259.8 11.0 12.4 1995 Corporate expenses Interest expense-net Unusual charge Acquired in-process research and development Nonrecurring charge to cost of sales for Petrolite inventories Gain on sale of Varco stock Other Total $(39.7) (50.8) $352.8 31.2 258.9 6.6 6.7 $319.6 29.7 187.3 5.0 5.4 $29.4 (84.7) 303.6 1.5 3.0 $22.0 (92.0) 295.8 3.8 2.4 1996 $(40.2) (52.1) (39.6) 87 $3,027.7 298.9 3,297.4 182.2 145.5 $2,637.5 205.1 3,166.6 138.9 144.1 1997 $(44.3) (46.8) (52.1) (118.0) (21.9) The following table presents the details of “Other” segment profit (loss). (1.5) $(92.0) 44.3 2.9 $(84.7) 1.2 $(281.9) The following table presents revenues by country based on the location of the use of the product or service. 1995 United States United Kingdom Venezuela Canada Norway Indonesia Nigeria Oman Other (approximately 60 countries) Total $972.9 207.6 122.7 157.5 104.2 54.5 33.5 45.7 938.9 $2,637.5 1996 $1,047.2 277.9 160.0 165.1 145.6 92.7 64.1 56.8 1,018.3 $3,027.7 1997 $1,319.7 288.0 244.2 204.5 175.0 128.0 83.5 77.2 1,165.3 $3,685.4 The following table presents property by country based on the location of the asset. 1995 United States United Kingdom Venezuela Germany Norway Canada Singapore Other countries Total SOURCE: 1996 $359.9 77.7 25.1 19.3 10.9 9.1 17.7 79.3 $599.0 1997 $593.3 145.3 33.3 21.4 20.0 16.9 11.7 141.0 $982.9 $353.0 67.6 19.0 18.4 11.3 8.0 25.0 72.8 $575.1 Baker Hughes Inc., annual report, September 1997, 49–51.
Slide 101: 88 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 2.35 Adjustment worksheet for sustainable earnings base: Baker Hughes Inc., years ended September 30 (in millions). 1995 Reported net income or (loss) Add Pretax LIFO liquidation losses Losses on sales of fixed assets Losses on sales of investments Losses on sales of “other” assets Restructuring charges (unusual charge) Investment write-downs Inventory write-downs (included in cost of sales) Other asset write-downs Foreign currency losses Litigation charges Losses on patent infringement suits Exceptional bad debt provisions Temporary expense increases Temporary revenue reductions Other Other Other Subtotal Multiply by (1 – Combined federal and state tax rates) Tax-adjusted additions Add After-tax LIFO liquidation losses Increases in deferred tax valuation allowances Other nonrecurring tax charges Losses on discontinued operations Extraordinary losses Losses/cumulative-effect accounting changes Other (acquired in-process R&D) Other Other Subtotal Total additions 58% $1.1 58% $29.6 58% $42.9 $105.4 1996 $176.4 1997 $97.0 39.6 52.1 21.9 1.9 11.4 $1.9 $51.0 $74.0 14.6 12.1 118.0 $14.6 $15.7 $29.6 $130.1 $173.0
Slide 102: Analyzing Business Earnings EXHIBIT 2.35 (Continued) 1995 Deduct Pretax LIFO liquidation gains Gains on sales of fixed assets (disposal of assets) Gains on sales of investments (Varco stock) Gains on sales of other assets Reversals of restructuring charges Investment write-ups (trading account) Foreign currency gains Litigation revenues Gains on patent infringement suits Temporary expense decreases Temporary revenue increases Reversals of bad-debt allowances Other Other Other Subtotal Multiply by (1 – Combined federal and state tax rate) Tax-adjusted deductions Deduct After-tax LIFO liquidation gains Reductions in deferred tax valuation allowances Loss carryforward benefits—from prior periods Other nonrecurring tax benefits (IRS audit agreement) Gains on discontinued operations Extraordinary gains Gains/cumulative-effect accounting changes Other Other Other Subtotal Total deductions Sustainable earnings base 58% $10.6 58% $44.1 18.3 31.7 44.3 1996 89 1997 18.4 4.1 $18.3 $76.0 $22.5 58% $13.1 13.1 3.3 4.2 11.4 $13.1 $23.7 $97.4 $3.3 $47.4 $158.6 $15.6 $28.7 $241.3
Slide 103: 90 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 2.36 Summar y of nonrecurring items search process: Baker Hughes Inc. Step and Search Location 1. Income statement Nonrecurring Item Revealed Unusual charge (1996-1997)1 Acquired in-process research and development (1997)1 Gain on sale of Varco stock (1996)1 Cumulative effect of accounting changes (1995, 1997)1 2. Statement of cash f lows Acquired in-process research and development (1997)2 Gain on sale of Varco stock (1996)2 Gain on disposal of assets (1995–1997)1 Foreign currency translation (gain)/loss, net (1995–1997)1 Cumulative effect of accounting changes (1995, 1997)2 3. Inventory note 4. Income tax note 5. Other income (expense) note 6. MD&A No nonrecurring items located 1992 and 1993 IRS audit agreement (1997)1 Operating loss and credit carryforwards (1995–1997)1 No note provided Petrolite inventory writedown in cost of sales (1997)1 Unusual charge (1996-1997)2 Acquired in-process research and development (1997)3 Gain on sale of Varco stock (1996)3 1992 and 1993 IRS audit agreement (1997)2 Foreign currency translation (gain)/loss, net (1996 –1997)2 7. Other notes revealing nonrecurring items: a. Significant accounting policies b. Acquisitions and dispositions Cumulative effect of accounting changes (1995, 1997)3 Acquired in-process research and development (1997)4 Unusual charges (1996-1997)3 Gain on sale of Varco stock (1996)4 c. Unusual charge d. Segment information Unusual charges (1996-1997)4 Unusual charges (1996-1997)5 Acquired in-process research and development (1997)5 Petrolite inventory writedown in cost of sales (1997)2 Gain on sale of Varco stock (1996)5 Note: The superscripts 1, 2, 3, and so on indicate the number of times the nonrecurring item was found. For instance, “Gain on sale of Varco stock” was found in the income statement (first location); in the statement of cash f lows (second location); in MD&A (third location); in the “Acquisitions and dispositions” note (fourth location); and in the “Segment and related information” note (fifth location).
Slide 104: Analyzing Business Earnings 91 EXHIBIT 2.37 Ef f iciency of nonrecurring items search process: Baker Hughes Inc. Incremental Nonrecurring Items Discovered (1) All Nonrecurring Items 6 6 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 17 (2) Cumulative % Located 35% 71 71 94 94 100 100 100 100 100 100% (3) All Materiala Items 6 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 12 (4) Cumulative % Located 50% 75 75 92 92 100 100 100 100 100 100% Step and Search Location 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7a. Income statement Statement of cash f lows Inventory note Income tax note Other income (expense) note MD&A Significant accounting policies note 7b. Acquisitions and dispositions note 7c. Unusual charge note 7d. Segment and related information note Total nonrecurring items a Five percent or more of the amount of the net income or net loss, on a tax-adjusted basis. worksheet, the company’s three-year operating performance is virtually impossible to discern. The efficient search sequence for identifying nonrecurring items in Exhibit 2.3 was based on the experience of the authors supported by a large-scale study of nonrecurring items by H. Choi. While the recommended search sequence may not be equally effective in all cases, Exhibit 2.37 demonstrates that most of Baker Hughes’s nonrecurring items could be located by employing only steps 1 to 5, a sequence that is very cost-effective. In fact, 92% of all material nonrecurring items were located through the first four steps of the search sequence. Further, locating these items requires reading very little text, and the nonrecurring items are generally set out prominently in either statements or schedules. Exhibit 2.37 presents information on the efficiency of the search process. The meaning of each column in the exhibit is as follows: Column 1: The number of nonrecurring items located at each step in the search process. This is based on all 17 nonrecurring items without regard to their materiality. The cumulative percentage of all nonrecurring items located through each step of the search process. Ninety four percent of the total nonrecurring items were located through the first five steps of the search process. All nonrecurring items were located by step 6. Column 2:
Slide 105: 92 Understanding the Numbers Column 3: Same as column 1 except only material nonrecurring items (those items exceeding 5% of net income on an after-tax basis). Same as column 2 except that only material nonrecurring items were considered. Column 4: SOME FURTHER POINTS ON THE BAK ER HUGHES WOR KSHEET The construction of an SEB worksheet always requires a judgment call. One could, of course, avoid all materiality judgments by simply recording all nonrecurring items without regard to their materiality. However, the classification of items as nonrecurring, as well as on occasion their measurement, calls for varying degrees of judgment. Some examples of Baker Hughes items that required the exercise of judgment, either in terms of classification or measurement, are discussed next. The Petrolite Inventor y Adjustment A pretax addition was made in Exhibit 2.35 for the effect on 1997 earnings of inventory obtained with the Petrolite acquisition (see Exhibits 2.30 and 2.34). Accounting requirements for purchases call for adjusting acquired assets to their fair values. This adjustment required a $21.9 million increase in Petrolite inventories to change them from cost to selling price. This meant that there was no profit margin on the subsequent sale of this inventory in the fourth quarter of 1997. That is, cost of sales was equal to the sales amount. Baker Hughes labeled this $21.9 million acquisition adjustment “nonrecurring charge to cost of sales for Petrolite inventories” (see segment disclosures in Exhibit 2.34). This Petrolite inventory charge raised the level of cost of sales in relationship to sales. However, this temporary increase in the cost-of-sales percentage (cost of sales divided by sales) was not expected to persist in the future. We concurred with the Baker Hughes judgment and treated this $21.9 million cost-of-sales component as a nonrecurring item in developing sustainable earnings. Foreign Exchange Gains and Losses Information on foreign exchange gains and losses was disclosed in the statement of cash f lows (Exhibit 2.28) and in the MD&A (Exhibit 2.30). The statement of cash f lows disclosed foreign-currency losses of $1.9 million in 1995 and $8.9 million in 1996. A $6.1 million gain was disclosed in 1997. However, the MD&A disclosed a foreign-currency loss of $11.4 million for 1996 and a gain of $4.1 million for 1997. The foreign-currency items in the statement of
Slide 106: Analyzing Business Earnings 93 cash f lows represent recognized but unrealized gains and losses. As such, there are no associated cash inf lows and outf lows. However, the disclosures in the MD&A represent all of the net foreign-exchange gains and losses, both realized and unrealized. These are the totals that would have been added or deducted in arriving at net income and also represent the nonrecurring foreign currency gains and losses. For 1996 and 1997, the Baker Hughes worksheet includes the foreign currency gain and loss disclosed in the MD&A, a loss of $11.4 million for 1996 and a gain of $4.1 million for 1997. In the absence of a disclosure of any foreign currency gain or loss in the MD&A for 1995, the worksheet simply included the $1.9 million loss disclosed in the statement of cash f lows. Adjusting the foreign-currency gains and losses out of net income is based on a judgment that comparative performance is better represented in the absence of these irregular items. The Tax Rate Assumption and Acquired R&D The tax rate used in the Baker Hughes worksheet was a combined (state, federal, and foreign) 42%. This is the three-year average effective tax rate for the company once nonrecurring tax items were removed from the tax provision. Two nonrecurring tax items stand out in the income tax disclosures in Exhibit 2.29. First is the increase in the tax provision because of the lack of tax deductibility of the $118 million of acquired in-process research and development in 1997.49 The tax effect of this nonrecurring item, $41.3 million, pushed the effective rate up to 49% for 1997. Because of this lack of deductibility for tax purposes, the pretax and after-tax amounts of this charge are the same, $118 million. Therefore, we recorded the $118 million charge with the other tax and after-tax items in the bottom section of the SEB worksheet. Because this item is added back to net income on its after-tax basis, no additional adjustment was needed for the $41.3 million tax increase resulting from the lack of deductibility. The second adjustment was for the $11.4 million nonrecurring tax reduction that resulted from an IRS audit agreement. The tax rate scales the numbers in the worksheet to their after-tax amounts. The goal should be a rate that is a reasonable representation of this combined rate. It is usually not cost beneficial to devote an inordinate amount of time to making this estimate. Equity Earnings and Disposal of the Varco Investment The MD&A included discussion of the gain on the sale of the Varco investment. This is a clear nonrecurring item, and it was adjusted from results in the Baker Hughes SEB worksheet. Baker Hughes accounted for its investment in Varco by using the equity method. This indicates that its ownership was sufficient to provide it with the capacity to exercise significant inf luence over Varco. Baker
Slide 107: 94 Understanding the Numbers Hughes disclosed that it recognized equity income from Varco of $3.2 million in 1995 and $1.8 million in 1996. However, the disposal of the Varco investment did not qualify as a discontinued operation. If it had been so classified, then the Baker Hughes share of earnings would have been removed from income from continuing operations of 1995 and 1996 and reported with discontinued operations—along with the gain on the disposition of the investment. Clearly, a case could be made for treating the 1995 and 1996 equity earnings as nonrecurring and removing them from earnings in developing the SEB worksheet. This would not alter the message conveyed by the SEB worksheet in this particular case. However, if the effect were more material, then a judgment to treat as nonrecurring the equity earnings from the Varco investment would be in order. Using the Summar y Disclosures of Unusual Charges In completing the worksheet, the summary totals from the unusual-charge disclosures (Exhibit 2.33) were used. Alternatively, the detail on the charges could have been recorded in appropriate lines in the worksheet. We saw this as offering no advantage here. Having the detail on the makeup of the unusual charges is helpful in determining whether other additional nonrecurring items have already been included in these totals. Recall that the 1997 Petrolite inventory adjustment of $21.9 million was not included in the unusual charges total (it was included in cost of sales). Summaries for unusual charges, it should be noted, usually do not include all items that could reasonably be considered nonrecurring. In addition, care should be taken not to duplicate the recording of items already included in summary totals for unusual charges. SUMMARY An estimation of the sustainable portion of earnings should be the centerpiece of analyzing business earnings. This task has become a far greater challenge over the past decade as the number of nonrecurring items has increased dramatically. This explosion has been driven by corporate reorganizations and associated activities. Some of the labels attached to these producers of nonrecurring items are restructuring, rightsizing, downsizing, reengineering, redeployment, repositioning, reorganizing, rationalizing, and realignment. The following are some key points for the reader to consider: • An earnings series from which nonrecurring items have been purged is essential in order to both evaluate current trends in operating performance and make projections of future results. • The identification and measurement of nonrecurring items will typically require the exercise of judgment.
Slide 108: Analyzing Business Earnings 95 • There are no agreed-upon definitions of nonrecurring items as part of GAAP. Moreover, a variety of labels are used beyond the term nonrecurring and they include special, unusual, nonoperating, and noncore. • It is common to treat items as nonrecurring even though they may appear with some regularity in the income statement. However, these items are usually very irregular in terms of their amount as well as whether they are revenues/gains or expenses/losses. • The key question to pose in making the nonrecurring judgment is: Will underlying trends in operating performance be obscured if the item remains in earnings? • Many material nonrecurring items will be separately disclosed on the face of the income statement. However, a substantial number will be disclosed in other statements and locations. It is typically necessary to extend the search for nonrecurring items well beyond the income statement. • In response to reductions in the time available for a whole range of important activities, an efficient and abbreviated search sequence is presented in the chapter and illustrated with a comprehensive case example. While a comprehensive review of all financial reporting is the gold standard, reliable information on sustainable earnings can typically be developed while employing only a subset of reported financial information. FOR FURTHER R EADING Bernstein, L., and J. Wild, Financial Statement Analysis: Theory, Application, and Interpretation, 6th ed. (Homewood, IL: Irwin McGraw-Hill, 1998). Comiskey, E., and C. Mulford, Guide to Financial Reporting and Analysis (New York: John Wiley, 2000). Comiskey, E., C. Mulford, and H. Choi, “Analyzing the Persistence of Earnings: A Lender ’s Guide,” Commercial Lending Review (winter 1994–1995). White, G., A. Sondhi, and D. Fried, The Analysis and Use of Financial Statements (New York: John Wiley, 1997). Mulford, C., and E. Comiskey, Financial Warnings (New York: John Wiley, 1996). Special Committee on Financial Reporting of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Improving Business Reporting—A Customer Focus (New York: AICPA, 1994). INTER NET LINKS www.fasb.org This site provides updates on the agenda of the FASB. It also includes useful summaries of FASB statements and other information related to standard setting. This site provides a very convenient alternative source of SEC filings. www.freeedgar.com
Slide 109: 96 Understanding the Numbers www.sec.gov A source for accessing company Securities and Exchange Commission filings. This site also includes Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases of the SEC. These releases provide very useful examples of the actions sometimes taken by companies to misrepresent their financial performance or position. ANNUAL R EPORTS R EFER ENCED IN THE CHAPTER Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (1999) Air T Inc. (2000) Akorn Inc. (1999) AK Steel Holdings Corporation (1999) Alberto-Culver Company (2000) Amazon.Com Inc. (1999) American Building Maintenance Inc. (1989) American Standard Companies Inc. (1999) AmSouth Bancorporation (1999) Archer Daniels Midland Company (2000) Argosy Gaming Company (1995) Armco Inc. (1998) Armstrong World Industries Inc. (1999) Artistic Greetings Inc. (1995) Atlantic American Corporation (1999) Avado Brands Inc. (1999) Avoca Inc. (1995) Baker Hughes Inc. (1997) Baltek Corporation (1997) C.R. Bard Inc. (1999) Baycorp Holdings Ltd. (1999) Bestfoods Inc. (1999) Biogen Inc. (1999) BLC Financial Services Inc. (1998) Brooktrout Technologies Inc. (1998) Brush Wellman Inc. (1999) Burlington Resources Inc. (1999) Callon Petroleum Company (1999) Champion Enterprises Inc. (1995) Chiquita Brands International Inc. (1999)
Slide 110: Analyzing Business Earnings 97 Cisco Systems Inc. (1999) Colonial Commercial Corporation (1999) Corning Inc. (1999) Cryomedical Sciences Inc. (1995) Dal-Tile International Inc. (1999) Dana Corporation (1999) Dean Foods Company (1999) Decorator Industries Inc. (1999) Delta Air Lines Inc. (1996, 2000) Detection Systems Inc. (2000) Dibrell Brothers Inc. (1993) Escalon Medical Corporation (2000) Evans and Sutherland Computer Corporation (1998) The Fairchild Corporation (2000) First Aviation Services Inc. (1999) Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (1991) Galey & Lord Inc. (1998) Geo. A. Hormel & Company (1993) Gerber Scientific Inc. (2000) Gleason Corporation (1995) Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company (1995, 1998) Handy and Harman Inc. (1997) M.A. Hanna Company (1999) Hercules Inc. (1999) H.J. Heinz Company (1995) Holly Corporation (2000) Hollywood Casino Corporation (1992) Imperial Holly Corporation (1994) Imperial Sugar Company (1999) JLG Industries Inc. (2000) KeyCorp Ohio Inc. (1999) Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. (1999) Lufkin Industries Inc. (1999) Mason Dixon Bancshares Inc. (1999) Maxco Inc. (1996) Meredith Corporation (1994) Micron Technology Inc. (2000) NACCO Industries Inc. (1995) National Steel Corporation (1999)
Slide 111: 98 Understanding the Numbers New England Business Services Inc. (1996) Noble Drilling Inc. (1991) NS Group Inc. (1992) Office Depot Inc. (1999) Osmonics Inc. (1993) Pall Corporation (2000) Petroleum Helicopters Inc. (1999) Phillips Petroleum Company (1990) Pollo Tropical Inc. (1995) Praxair Inc. (1999) Raven Industries Inc. (2000) Saucony Inc. (1999) Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc. (1999) Shaw Industries Inc. (1999) The Sherwin-Williams Company (1999) Silicon Valley Group Inc. (1999) Southwest Airlines Inc. (1999) Standard Register Company (1999) SunTrust Banks Inc. (1999) Synthetech Inc. (2000) Textron Inc. (1999) Toys “R” Us Inc. (1999) Trimark Holdings Inc. (1995) Tyco International Ltd. (2000) Watts Industries Inc. (1999) Wegener Corporation (1999) NOTES 1. The American Institute of CPA’s Special Committee on Financial Reporting, Improving Business Reporting—A Customer Focus (New York: AICPA, November 1993), 4. 2. Donald Kieso and Jerry Weygandt, Intermediate Accounting, 9th ed. (New York: John Wiley, 1998), 154–161. 3. Delta Air Lines, annual reports, June 1996, 50–51, and June 2000. 4. Some might also remove these gains because they do not represent operating items. However, the ongoing disposition of f light equipment is an inherent feature of being in the airline business. It is not what they are in the business to do, but it does come with the territory. 5. Delta Air Lines does disclose some proceeds from the sale of f light equipment in its 1998–2000 statements of cash f low. The gains and losses were probably too small
Slide 112: Analyzing Business Earnings 99 to receive separate disclosure. Delta Air Lines, annual report, June 2000, 36. Delta does disclose balances for deferred gains on sale and leaseback transactions. These balances declined by $50 million in 2000, suggesting that gains equal to this amount were included in earnings for 2000. They are treated as a reduction in lease expense and do not appear on a line item as gains on the disposition of f light equipment. 6. In fact, 1996 saw a loss of $7.4 million, followed by gains of $34.1 in 1997 and $2.6 million in 1998. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, annual report on Form 10-K to the Securities and Exchange Commission, December 1998, 32. 7. George A. Hormel & Company, annual report, 1993, 58. 8. H. Choi, Analysis and Valuation Implications of Persistence and CashContent Dimensions of Earnings Components Based on Extent of Analyst Following, unpublished PhD thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, October 1994, 80. 9. Ibid. The authors of this chapter served as committee member and committee chair for Dr. Choi’s thesis guidance committee. 10. AICPA, Accounting Trends and Techniques (New York: AICPA, 2000), 311. 11. AICPA’s Special Committee on Financial Reporting, Improving Business Reporting—A Customer Focus (New York: AICPA, November 1993), 4 12. SFAS 131, Disclosures about Segments of an Enterprise and Related Information (Norwalk, CT: Financial Accounting Standards Board, June 1997), para. 10. 13. APB Opinion No. 30, Reporting the Results of Operations (New York: AICPA, July 1973), para. 20. 14. SFAS 4, Reporting Gains and Losses from the Extinguishment of Debt (Stamford, CT: FASB, March 1975). 15. SFAS 15, Accounting by Debtors and Creditors for Troubled Debt Restructurings (Stamford, CT: FASB, June 1977). 16. Exxon’s accident took the form of a massive oil spill in Alaska, and Union Carbide’s was a release of toxic fumes in India. 17. Armco Inc. annual report, December 1998. Information obtained from Disclosure Inc., Compact D/SEC: Corporate Information on Public Companies Filing with the SEC (Bethesda, MD: Disclosure Inc., June 2000). 18. Securities and Exchange Commission, Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 101 (Washington, DC: SEC, 1999). 19. Southwest Airlines Inc., annual report, December 1999. 20. This statement needs some expansion. With the exception of barter transactions, almost all expenses involve a cash outf low at some point in time. In the case of depreciation, the cash outf low normally takes place when the depreciable assets are acquired. At that time, the cash outf low is classified as an investing cash outf low in the statement of cash f lows. If the depreciation were not added back to net income in computing operating cash f low, then cash would appear to be reduced twice—once when the assets were purchased and a second time when depreciation is recorded, and with it net income is reduced. 21. To keep the books in balance, the recognition of the loss in the income statement is matched by a reduction in the carrying value of the investment in the balance sheet. 22. SEC Reg. S-X, Rule 5-02.6 (Washington, DC: SEC, 2001). 23. SEC, Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 40 (Washington, DC: SEC, February 8, 1981).
Slide 113: 100 Understanding the Numbers 24. Handy and Harman Inc., annual report, December 1997. Information obtained from Disclosure Inc., Compact D/SEC: Corporate Information on Public Companies Filing with the SEC (Bethesda, MD: Disclosure Inc., June 1998. 25. Even with great improvements in supply chain management, it is still difficult to get along without any inventories. 26. Reviews and compilations represent a level of outside accountant service well below that of an audit. Compilations typically provide only an income statement and balance sheet. Neither notes nor a statement of cash f lows are part of the standard compilation disclosures. 27. Absent disclosures, the effect of a LIFO liquidation can be estimated. This requires the assumption that the observed increase in the gross margin is due largely to the LIFO liquidation. The pretax effect of the LIFO liquidation can then be approximated by multiplying sales for the period of the liquidation times the increase in the gross margin percentage. 28. Archer Daniels Midland Company, annual report, June 2000, 20. 29. Guidance in this area is found in SFAS No. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes (Norwalk, CT: FASB, February 1992). 30. The offsetting of gains and losses in the 1998 other income and expense note is swamped by a $329 million nonrecurring gain on the disposition of C.R. Bard’s cardiology business. 31. Reg. S-K, Subpart 229.300, Item 303(a)(3)(i) (Washington, DC: SEC, 2001). 32. Mason Dixon Bancshares might take issue with this characterization. Financial firms tend to characterize these disclosures as designed to measure core earnings. However, our experience is that the end product is very similar to sustainable earnings, where the focus is on purging nonrecurring items from reported net income. 33. Phillips Petroleum, annual report, December 1999, 33. 34. Ibid., 33. 35. Other companies that have provided similar presentations in recent years include Amoco Corp., Carpenter Technology, Chevron Corp., Deere & Company Inc., Halliburton Co. Inc., Maxus Energy Corp., and Raychem Corp. 36. C. R. Bard Inc., annual report, December 1999, 17. 37. A hedge of foreign-currency exposure is achieved by creating an offsetting position to the financial statement exposure. The most common offsetting position is established by the use of a foreign-currency derivative. These issues are discussed more fully in Chapter 12. 38. These alternative translation methods are discussed and illustrated in Chapter 12. 39. Dibrell Brothers Inc., annual report, December 1993, 35. 40. Ibid., 14. 41. Arthur Levitt, The Numbers Game, speech given at the NYU Center for Law and Business, September 28, 1998 (available at: www.sec.gov/news/speeches /spch220.txt). 42. The earnings of a subsequent period are increased by reducing the previously accrued restructuring charge on the basis that the accrual was too large. The amount by which the liability is reduced is also included in the income statement as either an item of income or an expense reduction.
Slide 114: Analyzing Business Earnings 101 43. Office Depot Inc., annual report, December 1999, 57, 56. 44. SFAS No. 130, Reporting Comprehensive Income (Norwalk, CT: FASB, June 1997). 45. Translation (remeasurement) gains and losses that result from the application of the temporal (remeasurement) method continue to be included in the income statement as part of conventional net income. Only translation adjustments that result from application of the all-current translation method are included in other comprehensive income. Recent changes in the accounting for financial derivatives also result in the inclusion of certain hedge gains and losses in other comprehensive income: SFAS No. 133, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities (Norwalk, CT: FASB, November 1998). 46. An annual survey conducted by the AICPA reveals the following pattern of adoption of the alternative reporting methods of SFAS No. 130 for 497 firms: (1) a combined statement of income and comprehensive income, 26 firms; (2) a separate statement of comprehensive income, 65 firms; and (3) reporting comprehensive income directly in shareholders’ equity, 406 firms. AICPA, Accounting Trends and Techniques (New York: AICPA, 2000), 429. 47. An earlier version of the Baker Hughes case study also appeared in E. Comiskey and C. Mulford, Guide to Financial Reporting and Analysis (New York: John Wiley, 2000), chapter 3. 48. Phillips Petroleum, annual report, December 1999, 33. 49. Research and development costs must be written off immediately—even if the in-process R&D is purchased from another firm. Whether this expense is deductible for tax purposes turns on the manner in which the acquisition is structured. Generally, the expense is deductible in transactions structured as asset acquisitions but not in the case of stock acquisitions.
Slide 115: 3 COST-VOLUMEPROFIT ANALYSIS William C. Lawler Abigail Peabody was a very well-known nature photographer. Over the years she had had a number of best-sellers, and her books adorned the coffee tables of many households worldwide. On this particular day she was contemplating her golden years, which were fast approaching. In particular she was reviewing her year-end investment report and wondering why she was not better prepared. After all, she had been featured in the Sunday New York Times book section, had discussed her works with Martha Stewart, and had been the keynote speaker at the Audubon Society’s annual fund-raiser. She knew it was not her investment advisers’ fault. Their performance over the past years had been better than many of the market indixes. She wondered if she was just a poor businessperson. The last thought struck a pleasant chord. She had a grandson who was a junior at a well-known business school just outside Boston. It was time, anyway, to catch up to his latest business idea. She dialed the number from memory. He was as lively as usual. “Hi, Abbey, I was just going to call you. How’s the new bird book coming?” [Of her many grandchildren, he had the most irresistible charm.] How she loved his ability to make her feel young—and his ability to remember never to call her anything that began with Grand-. “Actually, Stephen, that’s why I’m calling. I was just reviewing my retirement portfolio, and I think it’s time for me to renegotiate my royalty structure with my publisher. I could use some help from a bright business mind.” “Love to help you. What’s wrong with the current contract? Haven’t you been with them since the beginning?” “Yes I have, but things have changed. In the old days, they provided me with many services. They brainstormed projects with me, suggested different 102
Slide 116: Cost-Volume -Profit Analysis 103 ideas such as the Baskets of Nantucket best-seller, and edited my work wordby-word and frame-by-frame. They worked hard for me and earned every penny they made on me. I was not the easiest artist to put up with.” Stephen was interested. “Go on.” “Well, now I barely talk with them. I am at the point where loyal readers suggest many of my projects. I design them myself, edit them myself, and even help my publisher prepare the promotion materials. They don’t work so hard anymore. I think I have paid my dues. I want a bigger piece of the pie.” “That could be a problem, Abbey. I just finished a case study on that industry, and it is very competitive. There are many parts to the industry value system that ultimately ends with someone buying a book (see Exhibit 3.1). It starts with people like you who have the intellectual capital. The next piece of the system is the publisher, who manages the creativity process, supplies the editing, prints the book, and markets it. Wholesalers like Ingram add value to this system by buying books in large quantity from publishers, warehousing them, and selling in smaller quantities to bookstores. Of course, the last piece is the bookstore, where in-store promotion and the final sales process takes place. On, say, a $50 book, the bookstore buys it from the wholesaler for about $35, netting about $15 to cover its costs such as rent and salespeople. The wholesaler buys the book from the publisher in large lot sizes for about $30 a book, giving the wholesaler about $5 to cover its logistics costs. Of the $30 the publisher sells it for, 15% of the retail price, or $7.50 ($50 × 15%) is your royalty, and the rest covers printing, client development, returned books, administrative expenses, and a profit. The publisher really can’t give you too much more since its margin is already very slim. Sorry to disappoint you but that’s how it is.” Abbey was disappointed. “Stephen, for all that money your parents are paying, doesn’t that business school teach creativity? You have to look at the world and think of what it could be, not what it is today.” Unembarrassed by Abbey’s chastisement, Stephen, reacted positively. “How much risk do you want to take on this new project, Abbey?” EXHIBIT 3.1 Publishing industr y value system. Author Publisher Development Editing Printing $30.00 Wholesaler Logistics Warehousing $35.00 30.00 $ 5.00 Bookstore Promotion Sales $50.00 35.00 $15.00 Customer Competency: Intellectual Capital $7.50 Revenue: Purchase cost: Gross margin:
Slide 117: 104 Understanding the Numbers “That’s more like it. For now, let’s ‘roll the bones’—I mean, assume risk is not an issue. What do you have in mind?” “Well, this semester I have a Web-marketing course and I need a project. Are you familiar with the World Wide Web?” “I spend a good part of the day corresponding with friends on it.” “Good. What you just said to me is that you don’t see too many pieces of the publishing system adding value commensurate with the value they extract. How about setting up your own Web site and selling your latest project yourself? We would have to contract with others to provide the necessary parts of the chain, but selling the book through our Web site is possible. It could fail, and you would have one very unhappy publisher.” Abbey thought she was now getting somewhere. “As long as you are getting credit for it, why don’t you develop this idea further. See if it’s possible and what my risks would be. I might even give you a piece of the action.” COST STRUCTUR E ANALYSIS A month later Abbey met Stephen for lunch in Boston. He was excited. “Abbey, this is what I have found so far. Setting up a Web site is very easy, but maintaining it and keeping it fresh and exciting so that people want to revisit it is the challenge. Neither you nor I want to do that, trust me. I have talked with a number of companies who offer this type of service. Many of them were excited when I showed them copies of your past books. To set up and maintain the site, the offers ran anywhere from a low of $25,000 a year to four times that. The high-end ones also charge a 5% fee on all revenues generated. I think we want a high-end site that is creative, custom designed, and exciting so I lean toward the more expensive ones. They are good.” Abbey liked how he used the word we. And being an artist, she too thought that her Web site should be exciting, creative, and different. “Go on.” “I also found a number of printers who specialize in small run sizes, typically less than 50 books in any one printing. Their technology is called printon-demand, and they also work with photographs. I brought some samples of printed photos.” Abbey was impressed with the quality. It looked no different than her previous books. “What would they charge?” “They said they could print your books on demand and guarantee the quality for about $35 each. Now, this is much more than what traditional printers charge, but they always run large volumes, a minimum of 5,000 copies in one printing, and want to be paid for every one of them even before we could sell them. Bottom line, we would be at risk if this doesn’t work.” Abbey was disappointed that she was again making someone else rich, but moved on. “How would we do all the promotion and sales?” “Two ways. Once your readers learn of your site, they will visit it. If the Web-design company delivers what they promise, we should be able to sell
Slide 118: Cost-Volume -Profit Analysis 105 directly to them. Until that traffic happens, the Web designers will develop links with all the major sites that might be interested.” “How does that work?” “Well, your newest project is a Florida bird book for all the retired baby boomers down there, right? So we develop what is called a link with the Audubon’s Web site and maybe AARP and the Florida Tourism Bureau. When people see your book on those sites, they click on a link and get transferred to our site. If they buy the book, we pay the site a 10% royalty.” “Does that mean I spend all my days, assuming we are successful, mailing books all over the world? That doesn’t interest me.” “No. I also talked with logistics companies like UPS and FedEx. They will do all of that. When we sell a book, we just notify them electronically. They work with the printer to obtain the book and with the credit card company to get paid, and they ship it. They even collect the money, pay everyone involved with the sale, and electronically deposit the remainder in your account. They would charge about $10 per book for all of this, assuming we can guarantee a certain minimal volume.” “Now that sounds like your parents are getting their money’s worth. Have you summarized all of this?” “Sure have. You’re still thinking about a price of $80 for this book?” “My others have sold for that, and I think the demand for this might even be greater. So $80 is a good assumption.” “Okay. First, all business models have only two types of costs, variable and fixed. Each is defined by the behavior of the total cost function. Variable costs are those that increase proportionately with volume—basically, the more books we sell the higher these total costs will be. They can be expressed either on a per-unit basis or as a percentage of the selling price. Notice we have both types. Our printing and logistics costs total $45 for each book sold—$35 printing plus $10 logistics. Our Web-site sales referral cost of 10% and Web-design cost of 5% for every dollar of revenue are examples of the latter kind of variable cost. For the targeted price of $80, these costs come to $12 for each book sold ($80 × 15%). Note this type of variable cost is a little more complicated than the simple $45 per book—here if we change selling price, the variable cost will change. Given the $80 selling price, the total variable cost per book is then $57 per unit ($45 + $12). Unlike these costs, the Web-site design cost is a mixed cost1 and has to be broken into a variable and a fixed component. We have already treated the 5% variable cost component. There is also a fixed charge per year of about $100,000 if we go high-end. Note the difference in behavior of this cost. Here the total cost is not dependent on a volume factor such as “books sold.” Fixed costs are often called period costs since they are time dependent. So in summary, we have a time-dependent fixed charge of $100,000 per year, which remains the same regardless of the number of books sold, and a variable cost, which is better understood on a per-unit or, in this case, per-book rate of $57. I made a graph of this—what businesspeople call cost structure (see Exhibit 3.2).”2
Slide 119: 106 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 3.2 Web site cost structure. 1,800 1,600 Dollars (thousands) 1,400 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200 0 0 5,000 10,000 Units 15,000 20,000 25,000 Relevant range Abbey thought she understood. “So this structure will always be the same?” “With one proviso,” Stephen affirmed. “Although my chart looks the same from zero volume to an infinite amount sold, we really should only be talking about a smaller relevant range. Both the printer and the logistics company are assuming an annual volume of between 10,000 and 25,000 books—essentially what your past books sold. Outside this range, especially on the high side, the costs probably will change. I don’t think the printer can do much more than 25,000 a year for us. Likewise, at greater than this volume, we would probably have to redesign the Web site. So the cost structure could change if we were to move outside the range.” “Okay. So now I think I do understand what the cost structure would be given our plans for the Web site. All that you said makes sense, and I’m sure my new book will sell in that range. So tell me why I shouldn’t do this.” COST-VOLUME-PROFIT ANALYSIS “If we add a revenue line to my first exhibit,” said Stephen, “we will start to get a better picture of the answer to this question (see Exhibit 3.3). First, you must understand the concept of contribution margin. For us, it is simple. For every $80 book we sell, there is a variable cost to print, sell, and deliver that book of $57. This means that the net contribution of each book sold is $23. Does this make sense?” “Sure does,” Abbey answered, delighted. “This is wonderful. I was only making $12 with my publisher, and now I can make almost double that.” “Not quite. You forgot one thing. Contribution margin must first go toward covering the fixed costs before we can realize any profit. Each year we have to cover the Web-site designer’s charge of $100,000. At a contribution margin of $23 per book, it will take about 4,350 books sold to do this (see
Slide 120: Cost-Volume -Profit Analysis EXHIBIT 3.3 Web site CVP analysis. 107 2,500 Dollars (thousands) 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 Total revenue line Total cost line Break-even point Profit area Fixed cost 0 5,000 10,000 Units 15,000 20,000 25,000 Exhibit 3.4). On my graph, this is the point where the revenue line intersects the total cost line and is called the break-even point. After that, you are correct. For any additional book we sell, the $23 contribution per book is all profit. So, as I see it, there is little risk since you are sure that we will sell at a minimum 10,000 copies per year.” Abbey became a bit uncomfortable. “Actually, I think this book will sell about 20,000 copies per year at a minimum. But isn’t my alternative to stay with my publisher? And if so, shouldn’t we be talking about whether I would be better off with the Web site?” Stephen was suddenly not so cocky. Abbey thought that maybe some remedial work on those tuition dollars was needed. “I have some work to do. Why don’t you get back to me on that, Stephen?” Two nights later, after faxing her two charts, Stephen phoned Abbey. “I sent you a different type of chart, called a profit chart, which shows the two EXHIBIT 3.4 Break-even calculations. Sales Revenue = Fixed Costs + Variable Costs $80 x = $100, 000 + $57 x Solving for x, $80 x − $57 x = $100, 000 $23 x = $100, 000 x= $100, 000 = 4, 348 books 23 General Rule: Break-even point = Fixed Costs Contribution Margin
Slide 121: 108 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 3.5 Prof it chart. 600 500 Dollars (thousands) 400 300 200 100 0 –100 –200 Units 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 Sell through Web site Stay with publisher alternatives (see Exhibit 3.5). ‘Stay with the publisher’ shows that you make $12 for every book sold. ‘Sell through the Web site’ is a bit more involved in that it shows that you first must cover your fixed cost before making any profit. Note that they intersect at about 9,100 books sold, which means that you would be indifferent to which business model you chose at this volume of books sold.3 But at less than the 9,100 you should stay with your publisher; at greater than that volume, build your own Web site. At the 20,000 books-per-year level you said you are sure this project will hit, you make $240,000 per year (20,000 × $12 royalty per book) if you stay with your publisher, and $360,000 with the Web site (20,000 × [$80 − $57] − $100,000 fixed costs). Another way to think about this is that if we set up our own Web site there is an additional variable cost for each book we sell—the $12 we could have made from the publisher (see Exhibit 3.6). This is called an opportunity cost. It is a relative measure— EXHIBIT 3.6 Revised Web site CVP analysis. Total revenue line 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 Break-even now indifference point Revised total cost line $69x + $100,000 Dollars (thousands) 0 5,000 10,000 Units 15,000 20,000 25,000
Slide 122: Cost-Volume -Profit Analysis 109 what is sacrificed when we choose one alternative, selling through the Web site, over the next best alternative, staying with the publisher. If we think this way, our contribution margin is now only $11 ($80 selling price less $57 variable costs less $12 royalty per book sacrificed). We do arrive at the same indifference point using this method—using the general rule: CVP Point = Fixed Costs Contribution Margin $100, 000 = $11 = 9, 091 units I think this is the better way to think about the Web-site alternative. Note, using this method, at 20,000 books per year we make a total contribution of $220,000 (20,000 × $11), which covers our fixed costs and yields the $120,000 incremental profit—same as ($360,000 − $240,000).” Abbey was becoming very interested in this business opportunity. She liked the 50% greater return ($120,000/$240,000). “How fast can we get this Web site up and running?” “Let’s talk a bit more. I also presented today in class what we have done so far. Many students liked the idea. The only criticism was that Web customers expect lower prices since they know the middle person has been eliminated. The class agreed that a 10% to 15% price decline would be very likely, resulting in a price closer to $70. This is not so good for us. Even though our variable cost will fall to $67.50 since part of it is price dependent ($35 printing + $10 logistics + $12 opportunity cost + [15% × $70]), our contribution margin would now only be $2.50 per book. Just to match what you could make with your publisher, we would have to sell about 40,000 books a year ($100,000/$2.50 per book). At the 20,000-book level, we would now be worse off by $50,000 ([20,000 × $2.50] − $100,000). Well, you asked about the risks and here they are. The price could even be lower, so there is a high probability we could wind up worse off.” “So, you’re my business partner, what do you suggest?” was Abbey’s reply. “That’s a hard one,” was all Stephen could say. CVP for Decision Mak ing The next day Abbey called Stephen for more advice. “Public Broadcasting System of Florida called me after our talk yesterday. They just began planning their end-of-year membership drive and heard about my book project. They want to offer a free copy of my book to any member who donates $250 or more.” Stephen thought that was great. “Unfortunately, since they are a public company they have constraints on their spending. They can give a gift equivalent to only 20% of the donation.
Slide 123: 110 Understanding the Numbers Fifty dollars a book for 5,000 books was their offer to me. Since we just went over the numbers, I said I couldn’t possibly do this since our variable costs alone were greater than $50 a unit. This analysis we did does help with decision making. Last year I might have agreed to the deal. I am starting to feel like a businessperson.” Stephen asked whether the PBS group accepted her decision. When Abbey said that they were very persistent and would call back next week, Stephen suggested he and Abbey meet again for lunch. He needed to review some of his class notes on relevant cost analysis, specifically on something he remembered as “special orders.” At lunch Stephen explained some analysis he had done. “Abbey, this is called a special order situation. These types of business decisions are shortrun decisions that have no long-term ramifications.4 Assuming that we have the Web site up by that time, we have to be careful in identifying only those costs that are relevant to the decision. For instance, the $100,000 we will spend on our site per year is not relevant, since regardless of whether we accept this special order, those costs will still be there. The rule that we use is: A cost is relevant if and only if it will change due to the decision being analyzed, in this case our special order. Let’s review the relevant costs. First, there’s the $35 charge to print the books on demand. Since this is a 5,000-unit order the printer’s costs to prepare the run, called set-up costs, will be spread over a much larger number of books. I talked with him, and he would be willing to do this run for $30 per book. Likewise, UPS or FedEx will ship these books all at once and not individually, so the $10 charge per book will be avoided. A one-time fixed charge of $250 for shipment of the 5,000-book order is closer to the correct number. Since this order was not sold through a EXHIBIT 3.7 Relevant cost analysis of special order. Accept the Order, No Adjustments to Costs Accept the Order, Adjusted Costs 5,000 $250,000 $150,000 250 0 12,500 $162,750 $100,000 $ $ Reject the Order 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Difference 5,000 $250,000 $150,000 250 0 12,500 $162,750 $ 0 Number of books sold Revenue Relevant costs: Printing Logistics 10% site referral 5% Web site expense Total relevant costs Nonrelevant costs Web site design Profit from order 5,000 $250,000 $175,000 50,000 25,000 12,500 $262,500 $100,000 $ $100,000 $ 87,250
Slide 124: Cost-Volume -Profit Analysis 111 site reference, the 10% commission can also be avoided. I looked into the Web-site contract, and I do think we will have to pay this charge of $2.50 per book (5% × $50). Summing up, the variable cost per book for this special order will be only $32.50 ($30 printing charge plus $2.50 Web-site fee)—less than the $50 PBS is willing to pay. The end result is a $17.50 contribution margin per book for this special order. There is an incremental fixed charge of $250 but we still will make just over $87,000 (5,000 × [$50 − $32.50] − $250 = $87,250). So we should think about reconsidering the offer” (see Exhibit 3.7). Though Abbey was beginning to appreciate the complexity of this type of analysis, all the numbers did make sense. She had only one question: “What happens if customers I would have sold to anyway get their books this way? Don’t I lose money?” Stephen had done that analysis. “In the business world, we call that cannibalization. On every book sold through this special offer, you could potentially lose the $23 contribution margin per book sold through the regular Web site if these people would have bought anyway. To solve for the potential number of regular customers that would have to be cannibalized in order for us to lose money on this special order, follow this procedure: $23x = $87, 250 Solving for x, we get x= $87, 250 $23 = 3, 793 customers This means that if about 3,800 of the 5,000 books sold by PBS go to customers that would have bought anyway, we are indifferent to accepting this order. If more than 3,800 would have bought anyway, we lose on this special order. Do you think 76% (3,800/ 5,000) of these people would buy from our Web site? I don’t think it is anywhere near that. And, on the positive side, these 5,000 people would now be advertising our Web site with your book on their coffee tables all over Florida.” Abbey was searching for the PBS phone number before Stephen had finished the last sentence. She made a mental note to understand this “relevant cost” analysis a bit more. Price Discrimination In the above special order situation, there was a legitimate reason to offer PBS the lower price. As Exhibit 3.7 illustrates, the relevant cost analysis justified the lower price. When offering different prices to different customers, one must be aware of the laws regarding price discrimination. Under the federal Robinson-Patman Act and many state laws, it is illegal to price discriminate unless there are mitigating circumstances. One must be very careful to do a
Slide 125: 112 Understanding the Numbers relevant cost analysis before granting any price concessions to customers on a selective basis. CVP in a Multiple Product Situation The special order was a great opportunity, but both Abbey and Stephen knew that the success of the Web site ultimately would depend on the regular, dayto-day business activity. The two of them were still worried about the potential Web discount resulting in a $70 price point. As an artist Abbey understood risk and had learned long ago to accept risk and figure a way to minimize it. She decided to talk with some of her artist friends. In two weeks she and Stephen met again. Stephen was desperate to finish his project since semester end was right around the corner. Abbey walked in wearing a rather stylish straw hat. “I think I have the solution, Stephen. I do not want to drop my price from $80. My other books sold at this price, and to drop the price on this one might send the wrong message to my loyal following. This book will not be in any manner inferior to my past works. But I do have an idea. We are going to expand our product offerings. I have a dear friend who makes these hats, and I think this would be a perfect complement to my bird book. After all, if you are going out bird-watching in Florida you need both to look good and to have sun protection. We are going to package the book with a hat and a Peterson’s Florida Bird Guide at a very reasonable price for those that are more price conscious.” Stephen was stunned. “Whoa, do you want all this complexity in your business, Abbey?” She smiled. “I, too, can do some field research. My friend will package the three items as orders come in. I don’t have to do any more work than before. She was happy to build demand for her hats.” “So, how about the costs?” “This is how I see it. We sell the hats for $50 by themselves; the books for $80 by themselves; and then offer the package for $140. A Peterson’s Guide typically sells for $20, so this package price is a deal—you could say I’m selling my book for $70 as part of this package, although I would never admit to it. I coerced my friend to give us her hats for $24 each, and the book costs when included in this package will change a bit. I put your relevant cost technique to work here. My friend and I think we can assemble the package for a variable cost of about $100 (see Exhibit 3.8). Peterson will give us the guide for $10 to get the exposure, and since we are still shipping only one item, I’m hoping that the logistics charge will not change too much. I had some problems figuring out what we have to sell since there were now multiple items—hats, books, and packages. But I have faith in you.” As his laptop was booting Stephen began. “CVP analysis for multiple products is very common since few companies sell just one item. Instead of
Slide 126: Cost-Volume -Profit Analysis EXHIBIT 3.8 Variable package cost estimates. $ 24 35 14 7 10 10 $100 113 Hat Book printing 10% site referral fee 5% Web site commission Peterson Guide Package logistics focusing on a contribution margin per unit, when we have multiple products we must base our calculations on the percentage contribution margin for each dollar of revenue.” “Sounds complicated.” “Not really, Abbey. It’s probably easier, though, for me to show you how it works than to explain it. All I need is your estimate of the sales mix. For every book you sell individually, how many hats will you sell and how many packages will you sell? These estimates do not have to be exact—businesspeople typically talk about ballpark estimates.” “My friend and I did discuss this. We were not sure, so we came up with a range. We think that for every 100 books we sell individually, we will sell 50 packages. A surprisingly large number of people are active in this regard. They actually do enjoy seeking these birds out in the wild. And, of course, everyone knows you need a wide-brimmed hat in Florida. We guessed that we might also sell 20 hats individually for every 100 books sold. If things go really well, we might sell as many as 70 packages and 30 hats for every 100 books. On the pessimistic side, we could sell as few as 30 packages and 10 hats for the same 100 books. Is this okay?” “Actually, that’s even better. If you’re sure of these ranges, then we can do a sensitivity analysis to see how our profits will change as the mix changes. We need to know how much our profit will vary with changes in the mix. Are you comfortable with these ranges?” “Yes.” “To do this analysis we must first build a product mix analysis. Here, I’ll show you.” Abbey was very impressed as Stephan built the analysis on his laptop (see Exhibit 3.9). “Just as we analyzed the unit costs before, we build a similar cost analysis. The only difference is that this time we build it for a composite unit defined by the mix. For your expected mix, 100 books plus 50 packages plus 20 hats, we see that for every $16,000 in sales you will have $11,180 in variable costs. This means that on a percentage basis your variable costs are 69.9% of sales as long as you sell in that mix. Note that we now have a percentage definition of contribution margin, not a unit definition—contribution margin
Slide 127: 114 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 3.9 Mix contribution estimates. Books Per Unit Low Mix Revenue Variable Cost Contribution Expected Mix Revenue Variable Cost Contribution High Mix Revenue Variable Cost Contribution $80 $57 71.3% Total 100 $8,000 $5,700 Packages Per Unit $140 $100 71.4% Total 30 $4,200 $3,000 Hats Per Unit $50 $24 48.0% Total 10 $ 500 $ 240 Mix Total $12,700 $ 8,940 70.4% $80 $57 71.3% 100 $8,000 $5,700 $140 $100 71.4% 50 $7,000 $5,000 $50 $24 48.0% 20 $1,000 $ 480 $16,000 $11,180 69.9% $80 $57 71.3% 100 $8,000 $5,700 $140 $100 71.4% 70 $9,800 $7,000 $50 $24 48.0% 30 $1,500 $ 720 $19,300 $13,420 69.5% percentage of 30.1%. Our fixed costs are still $100,000 per year, so we now adjust the general rule for CVP point as follows:5 Sales − Variable Costs − Fixed Costs = 0 x − (69.9%) x − $100, 000 = 0 Solving for x, (30.1%) x = $100, 000 x= $100, 000 30.1% = $332, 226 in sales revenue To test this model, assume that we have $332,226 in sales revenue and we did sell the planned mix. Our contribution margin will be 30.1%, which yields the $100,000 necessary to cover the fixed costs. We do, in fact, break even. The key, of course, is to be able to forecast the correct mix and then to attain it.” Abbey was quick to correct Stephen. “Don’t forget, I still want to be at least as well off as if I chose to stay with my publisher—say the 20,000 books at my $12 royalty.” “Easy enough. We just revise the equation by adding a necessary profit requirement—this is why they call it cost-volume-profit analysis: Sales − Variable Costs − Fixed Costs = Profit x − (69.9%) x − $100, 000 = $240, 000
Slide 128: Cost-Volume -Profit Analysis 115 Solving for x, (30.1%) x = $340, 000 x= $340, 000 30.1% = $1,128, 631 (with no rounding) We find that you must do about $1.130 million in sales to be as well-off.” “Hmm. I’m not sure what this means. So how much of what do I have to sell? That’s what I want to know.” “What we do is take the total required sales of $1.130 million and split it by your revenue mix percentages. Given your expected mix estimates, half of your revenues will come from sales of books, or $564,315; seven-sixteenths from packages, or $493,776; and the other one-sixteenth from sales of hats, or $70,539. Dividing by the selling price of each item, we can also compute the necessary unit sales levels—7,054 books, 3,527 packages, and 1,411 hats. With our variable cost estimates, if you meet these targets we will indeed meet the targeted profit level (see Exhibit 3.10). In summary, we were worried that our 9,100-book target was too optimistic because price cuts were possible. With this mix we will have to sell 10,581 books—7,054 individually and 3,527 in packages—but one-third of them will essentially sell for around $70. This seems more realistic if the packages are marketed correctly.” “What does the sensitivity analysis tell us?” “Since the contribution percentage for the package is about equal to an individual book, this solution is not very sensitive to variation in mix. If you do meet your ‘optimistic’ mix projection, your contribution percentage increases by less than 1%—30.1% to 30.5% (see Exhibit 3.11). As a result your EXHIBIT 3.10 Required unit revenues and sales volumes expected mix. Books Per Unit Expected mix Revenue Percentage of total CVP target Mix % allocation Variable cost Contribution margin Divide by unit price to find unit sales needed $80 $ Total 100 8,000 50.00% Packages Per Unit $140 $ Total 50 7,000 43.75% Hats Per Unit $50 Total 20 $ 1,000 6.25% $ Mix Total 16,000 100.00% $1,128,631 $1,128,631 71.3% $564,315 402,075 $162,241 71.4% $493,776 352,697 $141,079 48.0% $70,539 33,859 $36,680 $ 340,000 Books 7,054 Packages 3,527 Hats 1,411
Slide 129: 116 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 3.11 Mix sensitivity analysis optimistic mix. Books Per Unit Expected mix Revenue Percentage of total CVP target Mix % allocation Variable cost Contribution margin Divide by unit price to find unit sales needed $80 $ Total 100 8,000 41.45% Packages Per Unit $140 $ Total 70 9,800 50.78% Hats Per Unit $50 Total 30 $ 1,500 7.77% $ Mix Total 19,300 100.00% $1,115,986 $1,115,986 71.3% $462,585 329,592 $132,993 71.4% $566,667 404,762 $161,905 48.0% $86,735 41,633 $45,102 $ 340,000 Books 5,782 Packages 4,048 Hats 1,735 sales revenue target to meet your profitability goal will drop only a small amount—from about $1.130 million ($340,000/30.1%) to $1.120 million ($340,000/30.5%). Basically, we would have to sell only 9,830 books with 41% at discount. This would mean, though, that we would have to sell substantially more packages. All in all, our answer is not that sensitive to the mix.” Abbey now asked Stephen if he wanted to partner with her. METHODS OF COST BEHAVIOR ESTIMATION CVP analysis is a rough, first-pass analytic technique. Businesspeople use it to make some initial profitability estimates of potential opportunities and to cull those that show the most promise. More in-depth analysis would then follow.6 The key to CVP analysis is correctly identifying the cost structure of the business opportunity being analyzed. Without a proper knowledge of the cost behaviors—identification of the fixed period costs and the variable costs per unit or as a percentage of sales revenue—business planning cannot be done properly. There are four methods used to analyze cost behavior. Three are analytic approaches that require historical data, and the other is more judgmental. Abbey’s Web-site example discussed above is an example of the latter. Since the business was not yet operating, there was no database to study. Rather, the cost structure was estimated by analyzing the processes on which Abbey’s business would be based. The data came from discussions with process partners such as the Web-site designer and the logistics company and from Abbey’s firsthand knowledge of the book business. This procedure depends on correctly identifying all the necessary business processes and the experience
Slide 130: Cost-Volume -Profit Analysis 117 and ability of those who provide accurate process cost estimates. Since Abbey’s business model was relatively simple and many of the processes were outsourced to experienced third-party providers, the resulting cost structure estimates are probably relatively accurate. Given a more complex business opportunity that might require many internal process steps that are not yet well understood, this methodology might not yield such accurate results. The three analytic approaches are techniques used when historical data is available. Unfortunately, many firms first develop this analysis after they have begun operations—an inopportune time. For instance, now that the bloom is off the Internet rose, there are many such firms scrambling to do this analysis after the fact. Investors are withholding later-round financing until these firms can develop the analysis we illustrated above. Assume that Books “R” Us is one of those firms. Since it has not yet broken even, its investors want to better understand the cost structure and when, if ever, they can expect a return. The company has been in business for two years and over the past 12 months has shifted from building infrastructure to its primary focus, selling books.7 All agree that these past 12 months would be a good basis on which to develop the analysis.8 The relevant data are given in Exhibit 3.12. There are many ways to analyze this data. They all assume the following first-order cost equation: Total Cost = Variable Cost + Fixed Cost = (Variable Cost Percentage × Sales Revenue) + Fixed Cost The first of the three databased techniques is simply to plot the data in an x-y coordinate system with costs on the y-axis and sales revenues on the x-axis. It EXHIBIT 3.12 Books “R” Us data. Revenue $(000) January February March April May June July August September October November December Total $ 12,250 14,500 15,000 16,250 15,250 13,750 11,500 17,500 23,750 15,500 16,000 22,500 $193,750 Total Costs $(000) $ 13,500 16,000 16,500 17,250 16,500 15,500 13,000 18,250 25,000 16,500 17,250 22,000 $207,250 Profit $(000) $ (1,250) (1,500) (1,500) (1,000) (1,250) (1,750) (1,500) (750) (1,250) (1,000) (1,250) 500 $(13,500)
Slide 131: 118 Understanding the Numbers is called visual fit because one simply draws a straight line through the data that “best fits” the pattern (see Exhibit 3.13). The point where this line intersects the y-axis yields an estimate of the fixed cost component—those costs that exist even without any sales activity. The slope of the line drawn is defined mathematically as: rise over run or change in y-axis values divided by the change in x-axis values. Using business rather than mathematical terminology, how much the total costs change (the y-axis or rise) as the sales volume changes (the x-axis or run). As was discussed above, this is simply the variable cost expressed as a percentage of sales. For the Books “R” Us example, given the line I’ve drawn subjectively, the result would be: Fixed Cost Estimate: line crosses y-axis at about $4 million dollars Variable Cost Percentage of Sales Estimate = Slope: about 85.2% 9 With today’s computer software, this method is easy and time efficient. Unfortunately, it lacks verifiability. If 20 people were to analyze this same data set, you could end up with twenty different cost structure estimates. The second method is called high-low analysis. It also is time efficient and has the added advantage of verifiability. Since it is rule based, all twenty people in this case would arrive at the same estimate. It has four steps: 1. On the x-axis, identify the high and the low points of the data set. 2. Identify the historical costs for each of those points. 3. Assume a straight line through these two points and calculate the variable cost component using the traditional slope equation: Slope = Change in y-Axis Values Change in x-Axis Values 4. For either the high or the low set of data points, plug the values into the cost equation and solve for the fixed cost component. EXHIBIT 3.13 Books “R” Us scatter plot. 30,000 25,000 Total Cost ($) 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 Revenue ($) 20,000 25,000
Slide 132: Cost-Volume -Profit Analysis 119 For the example and data set in Exhibit 3.12, the steps would be as follows: 1. High and low points = September sales or $23.75 million and July sales of $11.5 million. 2. Historical costs for each point = $25,000 (September) and $13,000 (July). 3. Slope = Rise/Run = ($25,000 − 13,000)/($23,750 − $11,500) = 98%. 4. Fixed component: Total Cost = Variable Cost + Fixed Cost. For high data points: $25, 000 = 98% ($23, 750) + Fixed Cost Fixed Cost = $25, 000 − 98% ($23, 750) = $1.725 million (rounded) For low data points: $13, 000 = 98% ($11, 500) + Fixed Cost Fixed Cost = $13, 000 − 98% ($11, 500) = $1.725 million (rounded) This method has two weaknesses. First, the high and low data points chosen are assumed to ref lect the pattern of all data points. Often, however, either or both of these points may not be such, and the analysis is f lawed.10 The second weakness is an extension of the first. We had 12 data points but chose to analyze only two of them, ignoring the other 10. This method is data inefficient; if you have 12 data points, all 12 should be considered for the analysis. The third databased technique is called regression analysis. Here a function is fit through all data points in a manner that minimizes the total squared error between each data point and the fitted line. The mathematics underlying this technique are beyond the scope of this chapter, but the method is widely used and preferred when the data set has problems such as a stepped fixed cost or variable costs based on multiple factors. All spreadsheet software packages have a function that performs simple regression analysis.11 Exhibit 3.14 is an example of what the output would look like for a least-squares regression analysis using Excel. The estimate for the fixed cost is $2.73 million, and the variable cost is 90% per sales dollar. The adjusted R2 of 98% means that 98% of the variance of the Total Cost data is explained by this equation. The drawback of this analysis is that it is not intuitive. One must trust the output from the statistical package. If the user does not understand the statistical technique and the assumptions of the software package, the output is often f lawed.12 This approach needs a sound grounding in statistical analysis. In summary, for the data set being analyzed, the three databased techniques yield results that vary considerably (see Exhibit 3.15). The key to correctly using databased techniques, however, is not choosing the right technique but beginning with a data set that truly ref lects the cost structure being
Slide 133: 120 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 3.14 Least-squares regression output (Books “R” Us data). SUMMARY OUTPUT Regression Statistics Multiple R R square Adjusted R square Standard error Observations 99.1% 98.2% 98.0% 471.36 12 ANOVA df Regression Residual Total 1 10 11 Coefficients Intercept X variable 1 $2,733 90% SS 119,835,495 2,221,797 122,057,292 MS 119835495 222179.69 F 539.363 Significance F 4.956E-10 analyzed. To emphasize this, the cost function, Total Cost = (76%)Revenue + $5 million, was used to generate the data set in Exhibit 3.12. A randomized error term was then added to these data estimates, they were rounded to the nearest quarter million, and then the high and low data points, July and September, were purposely changed. For instance, assume September was a very busy month for Books “R ” Us because of the many college-student book orders. This rush caused overtime and other disruptive cost behavior. Without the analyst first adjusting the data point for this aberrant behavior, the results are skewed. For databased techniques such as these, the adage “Garbage in, garbage out” holds true. Before employing any of these techniques first ensure that your data does truly ref lect the cost structure being studied. EXHIBIT 3.15 Databased cost structure estimates. Variable Cost Percentage Fixed Cost (in millions) $4.0 1.725 2.733 Visual fit High-low Least squares 85 98 90
Slide 134: Cost-Volume -Profit Analysis 121 THE ROLE OF PR ICING IN CVP ANALYSIS CVP analysis is often erroneously used to set prices. The P in CVP does not stand for “price”; it stands for “profit.” A rule to remember: There is no such thing as “cost-based pricing.” Prices are market driven. If a firm finds itself in a competitive market where competition among rivals is based on delivering comparable value to customers at the lowest cost, the market sets the price. As Adam Smith wrote centuries ago, only the most efficient firms will survive. To use CVP analysis in this situation, one starts with estimates of the marketdriven price and then calculates the profitability given probable unit demand and the current cost structure. If the forecasted profit is not sufficient to satisfy investors, one must then focus on reducing costs, not raising prices. Incumbent firm behavior in the U.S. health care industry after deregulation in the 1980s is a perfect example of incorrect use of this technique. New entrants into the lower, more profitable segments of this industry—for example, the walk-in clinics that have sprung up in metropolitan areas—gave patients (and insurance providers) a lower-cost option than traditional hospitals for minor health-care procedures. Large hospitals responded to this loss of segment revenue by spreading their costs (mostly fixed) over their remaining health-care offerings and raising prices. With those higher prices, the clinics were able to offer lower-priced alternatives for more complex procedures. With the loss of these revenues, the hospitals responded in the same manner. This is called the “doom loop,” and it led to the closing of many such institutions. The proper move for the hospitals should have been to pare expenses on the noncompetitive offerings. For firms that compete by differentiating themselves from rivals by offering additional value to customers at comparable cost, pricing should be based on value to the customer, not cost. Microsoft certainly does not price its products on the costs to develop and deliver them. Bill Gates long ago understood the value of an industry-standard PC operating system and has priced Microsoft’s offerings accordingly. The key here, of course, is that the additional value must exceed the costs to create it. CVP analysis in this situation is basically no different than previous examples. Only here, one starts with estimates of the value-based price and then calculates the profitability given probable unit demand and the current cost structure. If the forecasted profit is not sufficient to satisfy investors, one must then focus not simply on raising prices but on reducing costs or increasing the willingness of consumers to pay more. Predator y Pricing In recent years a legal battle raged between two of the nation’s largest tobacco companies.13 The Brooke Group Inc. (previously known as Liggett Group Inc.) accused Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation of predatory pricing in the wholesale cigarette market. At trial in federal court the jury decided that Brown & Williamson had indeed engaged in predatory pricing against Brooke.
Slide 135: 122 Understanding the Numbers The jury awarded damages of $150 million to be paid to Brooke by Brown & Williamson. However, the presiding judge threw out this verdict. Brooke then filed an appeal, and the case continued. Predatory pricing cases are not unusual, and damage awards as large as $150 million are not unheard of. Predatory pricing, as the name implies, is a tactic where the predator company slashes prices in order to force its competitors to follow suit. The purpose is to wage a price war and inf lict upon the competition losses of such severity that they will be driven out of business. After destroying the competition, the predator company will be free to raise prices so that it can recover the losses it sustained in the price war and also rake in profits that will greatly exceed normal earnings at the competitive level. This final result is harmful to competition, and predatory pricing has therefore been made unlawful. To determine whether a firm has engaged in predatory pricing, the courts need a test that will supply the correct answer. One of the usual tests is whether there is a sustained pattern of pricing below average variable cost. If the answer is yes, this indicates predatory pricing. Let us examine the logic underlying this widely used test. First, recall that contribution is the margin between selling price and variable cost. Contribution goes toward paying fixed costs and providing a profit. If price is less than variable cost, contribution is negative. In that case, the firm cannot fully cover its fixed costs, and certainly it will suffer losses. Therefore, it makes no sense for the firm to charge a price that is below variable cost unless the firm is engaging in predatory pricing in order to destroy competing firms. That is why pricing below variable cost is considered to be consistent with predatory pricing. We should bear in mind that the variable cost used in the test is that of the alleged predator, not of the alleged victim. The reason is that the alleged predator may be an efficient low-cost producer, whereas the alleged victim may be an inefficient high-cost producer. Therefore, a price below the alleged victim’s variable cost may be above that of the alleged predator, in which case it could be a legitimate price and simply a ref lection of the superior efficiency of the alleged predator. The antitrust laws are designed to protect competition, but not competitors (especially those competitors who are inefficient). Of course, this is only one indicator of predatory pricing, and all of the relevant evidence must be considered. There should also be a pattern of sustained pricing below variable cost. Prices that are slashed only sporadically or occasionally are probably legitimate business tactics, such as loss-leader pricing to attract customers or clearance sales to get rid of obsolete goods. Predatory pricing is an important topic and has been the subject of major lawsuits in a wide variety of industries. Because it is a common test for predatory pricing, variable cost is also a very important topic that all successful businesspeople will benefit from thoroughly understanding. Predatory pricing is usually thought of in a regional sense, or perhaps on a national scale. But it can also occur on an international basis. In that case, it is known as dumping.
Slide 136: Cost-Volume -Profit Analysis 123 Dumping If a foreign company is the predator, there is no inherent difference in the tactics or the goal of predatory pricing. Pricing below variable cost would still remain a valid test. However, U.S. law imposes a stricter test on foreign than on domestic companies. The legal test for dumping does not involve variable cost. Rather, it focuses on whether the foreign company is selling its product here at a price less than the price in its home market. Dumping is simply predatory pricing by a foreign company. So the logic that supported using variable cost as a test for predatory pricing would also support using the same test for dumping. But the test actually used is the domestic selling price (usually higher than variable cost). This test makes it easier to prove dumping than to prove predatory pricing. It favors the domestic firms and is harder on the foreign company. This may be a matter of politics as well as one of economics. Perhaps the best-known cases of dumping have involved the textile and steel industries. Another recent case of dumping concerned Japanese auto companies accused by U.S. competitors of dumping minivans in this country. Also, the Japanese makers of f lat screens for laptop computers (active matrix liquid crystal displays) were alleged to have sold their products in the United States at prices below those in the home market. It is not always easy to ascertain the home market selling price. Even if there are list prices or catalog prices in the home market, there may be discounts or rebates that are difficult to detect. Therefore, instead of using the home market selling price as the test, the production cost may be used instead. This is reasonable, because the production cost is likely to be below the home market selling price. Therefore a dumping price below production cost is virtually certain to be also below the home market selling price. But production cost includes both fixed and variable costs and is therefore above variable cost. Also, it may be arguable as to what should be included in production cost. For example, some may include interest expense on money borrowed to purchase manufacturing material inventories. Others may believe that interest is not part of production cost. If it is determined that dumping has indeed taken place, then the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) will impose an import duty on the foreign product involved. This duty will be sufficiently high to boost the U.S. selling price to the same level as the home market price. Dumping has a large potential impact on businesses and industries in our economy. By extension, production cost is also a subject that successful businesspeople will find profitable to understand. FOR FURTHER R EADING Garrison, Ray, and Eric Noreen, Managerial Accounting, 8th ed. (New York: McGrawHill, 1999). Hilton, Ronald, Managerial Accounting, 4th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998).
Slide 137: 124 Understanding the Numbers Horngren, Charles, Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis, 9th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1998). Zimmerman, Jerold, Accounting for Decision Making and Control, 3rd ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999). NOTES 1. Mixed simply means that it has both a variable- and a fixed-cost component. Mixed costs are very common—note your monthly phone bill or many car rental contracts. 2. Economists argue that variable costs should not be represented by linear functions, since economies and diseconomies of scale do exist. For instance, price discounts are often given if one buys inputs such as paper for book printing in large quantities. They are better represented by quadratic functions. Most agree, however, that if we are analyzing a narrow enough range the assumption of linearity does not lead to material error. 3. This can be expressed in an algebraic equation as follows. Since the indifference point is where the two alternatives are equal: $12 x = $23x − $100, 000 Solving for x yields: $11 x = $100, 000 $100, 000 x= $11 = 9, 091 units 4. Defining the parameters of a “short-run” decision is often difficult. For this special offer, if accepted, will PBS assume that this will be the price in the future? Will other customers learn of this offer and expect the same terms? Short-run decisions often have hidden long-run effects—they should always be scrutinized. 5. In this format, x represents required dollar sales volume, not required unit sales volume. 6. ABC analysis, which is covered in the following chapter, is one such technique. 7. When estimating cost structure from historical data the analyst must first ascertain that the structure has not changed during the period being analyzed. If Books “R ” Us made major additions to its infrastructure, it would make little sense to aggregate the costs pre- and postaddition and consider them to be representative of a single cost structure. 8. For this simple example we will assume that there are none of the seasonalities in the fixed cost one would expect, say, for heating costs during the winter in New England. Likewise, we will assume that the variable cost per dollar of revenue is the same for all types of books.
Slide 138: Cost-Volume -Profit Analysis 125 9. To compute the slope, find a point that the line intersects and then measure the “rise-over-run” using the y-axis intercept and that point. For this calculation my line intersected the June data at point ($13,500, $15,500) so my rise was $11,500 ($4,000 to $15,500 in Total Cost) and my run was $13,500 ($0 to $13,500 in Revenue). The slope, therefore, was $11,500/$13,500 or 85.2%. 10. To avoid this shortcoming, many analysts first plot the data and then select high and low data points that “best fit” the data set. This technique is a melding of the first two databased techniques discussed. 11. For instance, Excel has a function that will perform a simple least-squares regression on a given data set. Other regression techniques that relax the linear fit assumption are also available on many statistical software packages. 12. For instance, infrastructure may have been expanded over the period the data set covers. The regression software will assume a constant fixed cost rather than some type of step function unless otherwise told. This can be treated using dummy variables, but the user needs to have a working knowledge of the statistical technique. 13. The final two sections of this chapter were written by John Leslie Livingstone for earlier editions of this book. They are reproduced here in their entirety.
Slide 139: 4 ACTIVITY-BASED COSTING William C. Lawler Dave Roger, CEO of Electronic Transaction Network (ETN/ W), sat stunned in his office. He had just come out of a preliminary third-round financing meeting with potential investors. Six months ago his CFO had assured him that third-round financing would not be a problem. Much had happened since that date. The Internet stocks had crashed. Money for the technology sector was now tight. In the two rounds before the crash, ETN/ W had so many prospective investors, the company had to turn some away. Since then their business model had not changed; ETN/ W had a solid revenue stream, and the forecast was for continued revenue growth—unlike many of the recently failed Internet companies, ETN/ W had real customers who were happy with its services. Yet the meeting had concluded without closure on the third round for one simple reason. When Dave started talking about their “proven” business model the potential investors immediately asked for specific details—“Explain your business model in terms of how you will create wealth for us, your investors.” As he fumbled to explain how ETN/ W would create shareholder wealth, they stopped him and suggested an approach with which they were all comfortable. If you were a manufacturer we would expect you to tell us how you will use our investment—some goes to infrastructure such as plant and equipment and some to working capital such as inventory and receivables. You would then tell us how much it would cost you to build your product, how much to market it, how much to service it, and what customers would be willing to pay for it. Our first two rounds of investment would have given you sufficient experience to gather this type of data. With this information, you could explain your business model— how you would create enough wealth to pay back our principal plus our required 126
Slide 140: Activity-Based Costing 127 return. Now, since you are a service provider rather than a manufacturer, explain your business model in like terms. What infrastructure is necessary for your business? What does it cost you to provide your service? How much does it cost to market these services? What are customers willing to pay for it? As he sat there now, Dave wondered if the analogy the investors had used was appropriate. In a manufacturing environment these questions were more easily answered than in a service company like ETN/ W. Yet after two rounds of investment and eighteen months in business he had fumbled the most important question in the meeting. In his hand he had the business card of a consultant suggested by his investors. They said this person had worked with a number of their clients and could help him develop the appropriate analysis. As much as he disliked being pushed by anyone to make decisions, he knew that 25 employees were counting on him. He lifted the phone to call Denise Pizzi. PR EPAR ING FOR DENISE Denise was very professional on the phone. She was awaiting his call and suggested that he prepare some documentation for their first meeting: a brief history of the company, their customer value proposition (she called it CVP), a blueprint of the value system for their industry, and their strategy—what was it that ETN/ W could offer clients that was distinct and value producing? Much of this had already been prepared. ETN/ W Histor y Three MBA classmates with extensive experience in electronic commerce had founded ETN/ W in Dallas, Texas, 18 months ago. Two came from a Houston computer giant—Carol Kelly from the hardware side and Eric Rock, a senior software applications manager. The third, Dave Roger, came from a well-known Dallas IT consultancy, a company focused on the Internet and e-commerce. The idea had come from Dave. Many of his clients were in e-commerce, and all had the same problem—transaction processing. Although most people think online commerce is a relatively simple process—point and click—it is actually quite complicated (see Exhibit 4.1). Assume customer A buys an item at Books “R” Us. When the order comes in, the company must first ascertain A’s creditworthiness. This means a credit check with a payment processor. If credit is okay, then Books “R” Us has to contact the book wholesaler it partners with to see if the book is in stock (this is called fulfillment). If the answer is in the affirmative, Books “R” Us gives the wholesaler the appropriate shipping information, gets the tracking information from the shipper, and contacts the payment processor once more to charge customer A. Books “R” Us then relays this information to A. This all has to be done in real time. Customer A does not want to wait and will quickly move to a competitor if not satisfied. In addition,
Slide 141: 128 Understanding the Numbers EXHIBIT 4.1 E-Commerce transaction detail. Web-merchant #1 #2 Credit company Fulfiller Shipper Credit company Customer A ETN/W #3 #4 #5 Summary from ETN/W to Web-merchant #6 Update customer profile Batch process Books “R” Us will update Customer A’s buying profile (or open a new one) in order to better serve that person in the future. Books “R” Us’s focus is on retail sales and Web-site design; this is the key to its success. The transaction processing is a necessary evil. In order to do this, Web merchants typically, purchase three to four software systems—one each for credit and payment processing, inventory management and fulfillment, tracking, and customer-information storage and mining. All these systems must talk to one another, which means that interfaces must be maintained. This interfacing is a nightmare because updates for each of these software systems are constantly being brought to market, requiring all interfaces to be rewritten. IT personnel in this area are highly valued, and retention is a major issue, especially for the smaller Web merchants. This nightmare blossomed into a business opportunity during a golf match. Carol was complaining about a new assignment—setting up a server farm.1 She was given the task of transforming her company from a provider of “boxes” (servers) to a provider of the services embedded in the box. This meant that her company had to get closer to customers, understand their computing needs, and meet those needs with a bundle of services delivered by the “server farm” she would be running. Basically this was a hardware outsourcing service similar to an offering of one of Dave’s sister divisions. Although he understood the move, and although servers were becoming commodified and margins were falling, he doubted that Carol could change the culture of her company. Maintaining customer relationships was expensive, much like the required maintenance on any hardware system; but unlike hardware maintenance they also required a unique set of people skills. On the next hole it was Dave’s turn to complain about his customers and how he had to hold their hands every time one of their transaction processing systems needed updating—every day the same thing only a different customer and a different software system. Eric laughed at this since he had much the same problems within his software applications group. Yet all three realized Real-time
Slide 142: Activity-Based Costing 129 that this was how software companies made their money. Once they captured a customer with an installed software system, that client was treated as an annuity. Every update required an additional payment to move each installed customer to the new system. They all agreed that this would never change. The golf round continued, as did the complaining about both work and golf. It was not until later, over libations in the 19th Hole, that they realized this could be a real opportunity. Dave was convinced that his customers would be more than willing to outsource their transaction-processing headaches. If a company could provide an integrated service that would perform all the tasks, it would be a winner. A customer value proposition (CVP) that said, “All your e-commerce transactions will be processed with the latest technology, and you will never have to worry about a customer waiting, updating your interfaces, or hiring and training another IT person,” would be music to their ears. Eric insisted that most application service providers (ASPs), much like Carol’s hardware company, were focused on selling their software packages, not on service. They were not capable of providing such a service. Carol agreed with both Eric and Dave—although she would try her hardest, her new assignment was like pushing a boulder uphill. All systems inside her company were focused on selling product; engineers designed the latest bells and whistles into their hardware and avoided customer contact whenever possible. All commission systems were based on dollar revenues; the top salespeople only sold what made them money, high priced items. They were not interested in selling low-commission service contracts. Within a month the threesome was working almost full-time on developing the business model. Carol was focused on designing the necessary hardware infrastructure—N/ T and UNIX servers, hubs and routers, firewalls, disk arrays, frame relays, and the like—and identifying the staffing requirements. Eric was researching the software offering for payment, fulfillment, tracking, and storage and attempting to identify which systems would likely become industry standards. Dave was running focus groups with a number of potential customers, trying to refine the CVP—exactly what should they offer these Web merchants?—and measure their willingness to pay. The business plan came together rather quickly. As expected, Dave found that customers would highly value the ability to focus all their attention on their primary activity, Web-based marketing and selling, rather than transaction processes and the hiring and training of people involved in these processes. In addition, the avoidance of investment in this type of infrastructure was important since capital was becoming scarce for many Web-based merchants and obsolescence was always a problem. An additional value that potential customers asked about involved the nature of the charge: Was it to be a variable per-transaction charge or a fixed fee? For this type of business, scalability was always a problem. No one knew what size system to build, but to have a system crash due to excess demand was fatal. As a result, idle infrastructure charges were always a problem. Many customers were ready to sign on immediately if the charge was on a per-transaction basis.
Slide 143: 130 Understanding the Numbers Carol found that the infrastructure build-out would not be cheap. She estimated that it would cost approximately $8 million in the startup mode and require about a dozen people. She estimated that this would give them the capacity to process about 120,000 transactions per day, which would be about 10 average-sized customers in a peak demand period such as Christmas or Valentines Day. Eric found that the software system would be cheaper. He also found some additional interesting information. Many ASPs such as Yantra, Oracle, and Cybersource offered to work with them in an alliance if they could advertise their applications, say, like the “Intel inside” model in the PC industry. He estimated that to build a totally integrated software platform would cost around $600,000 to $800,000. In this manner ETN/ W (Electronic Transaction Network) was started. Angel investors and alliance partners contributed $20 million, and the doors were open for business 18 months ago. Within a year they had nine customers and added another three in the following six months. Various pricing schemes were tried, but ETN/ W seemed to be gravitating toward a market-based, purely per-transaction charge between $0.10 and $0.15. Although transaction volume had not met the projected 120,000-per-day level, they were currently in the process of identifying potential new customers. ETN/ W CVP The group provided Denise the following from one of their marketing brochures: Web merchants should spend the majority of their time on their primary mission, creating value through innovative marketing and sales to customers and clients.2 You should avoid spending both scarce managerial talent and investor capital on any activity that could best be performed by third-party partners such as ETN/ W. Do investors see the value in your using their investment dollars and your creative energy to build transaction-processing systems that are suboptimal in scale and soon obsolete? In you spending your scarce time to hire and train high-cost personnel to manage and run these inefficient systems? The answer is clearly no. Join our network and get all these services seamlessly provided with stateof-the-art applications run by highly trained IT professionals. We will convert a difficult-to-manage fixed infrastructure cost into a totally scaleable variable cost that you pay only on a per-transaction basis. With us as your partner, you can spend your creative energies on tasks of value to your investors. ETN/ W Value System & Strategy This part of preparing for their meeting with Denise was an interesting task for the threesome, one that they had not previously performed. After referring to some of their old MBA notes, they prepared the following:
Slide 144: Activity-Based Costing 131 Value System. ETN/ W is an intermediary providing services to the Web merchant and its fulfillment, payment, and shipping partners. Although ETN/ W charges the merchant for the service, who ultimately pays for the service could be left to negotiation amongst the parties (see Exhibit 4.2). This exercise did open some interesting discussion regarding our narrowly defined CVP. We recalled Metcalf ’s Law: The value of a network is equal to the square of the number of nodes. Clearly, as our network expands, fulfillers such as Ingram, a $2 billion wholesaler of books, PCs, and home electronics, would see value in joining because it could provide fulfillment services to a number of the network’s Web merchants. Likewise, UPS and FedEx would want to join ETN/ W to offer their services if there was enough commerce going over the network. We did not have time to fully develop this thought, but discussion of an expanded scope for our CVP and potential pricing schemes is on the agenda for an upcoming meeting. This process might really be worth your fee. Strategy. ETN/ W will be the global cost leader in transaction processing for ecommerce providers. Exactly what is it that ETN/ W offers that others cannot copy? A sustainable strategy is based on doing things differently or doing different things, not simply doing the same thing as other competitors only better. As noted above, it would be difficult for any of the hardware companies and ASPs to copy our model, since their culture and internal systems are so geared to selling hardware or software rather than servicing customers. Hewlett Packard coined the term solution provider almost thirty years ago but still struggles in making the requisite transition. We all feel that ETN/ W can successfully compete with hardware providers and ASPs. The problem is the low barriers to entry: If all it takes is building an infrastructure with hardware and software technology that are readily available, what is to stop others from imitating our model? The only advantage we see is to be the first mover; once someone joins our network, why join another? We understand the urgency of building the network as quickly as possible to be recognized as the industry standard for transaction processing. EXHIBIT 4.2 ETN/ W value system. Visa, AmExp, MasterCard Webmerchant Customer ETN/W Fulfiller FedEx, UPS Transaction flow Physical flow
Slide 145: 132 Understanding the Numbers THE FI RST MEETING Denise was very happy with the work they had done. She had reviewed the materials and asked a few questions. Within an hour all felt comfortable that she understood ETN/ W in sufficient detail to aid them in preparing an answer for the investment group. They then turned to this phase of the meeting. Denise began. The value system analysis you did is a map at an aggregate level of the many firm-level value chains that together form this industry. It identifies all the processes that create value for an end customer or set of end customers and maps all the players and who adds what to the system. Our focus is on ETN/ W, but we cannot lose sight of how it interacts with other members of the system. The next step is to add another layer of detail—what are the process steps that ETN/ W performs, and do their values exceed the costs to perform them? Dave, Carol, and Eric did not understand what she meant and asked for clarification. “Simply stated,” Denise replied, “what is it that you do? Map the valueproducing processes you add to the system.” Carol was quick to answer: “We already told you—we process e-commerce transactions.” “Okay. So that is all you do? If I were to talk to any number of your people spread throughout this building, they would say, ‘I process transactions’?” Dave jumped in this time: “Well, not really. While most of us are involved in this in some form, we also have marketing and sales people.” “What do they do?” This dialog went on for another hour, with Denise at a blackboard capturing their discussion. After many edits the group arrived at the following. The process map for ETN/ W had three sequential steps: 1. Customer Capture. 2. Customer Loading onto the network. 3. Transaction Processing. Denise then stated: The next phase of this analysis is critical. Although most accounting systems capture costs by function—for example, manufacturing costs such as direct material, labor, and overhead and operating costs such as sales, marketing, R&D, and administrative—we can understand and forecast them only if we identify their causes. This analysis is called activity-based costing, or ABC. Not everyone believes the cost of ABC is worth the benefit, but higher cost is, I believe, more often due to how it is implemented rather than to the approach itself. Too many firms have limited it to manufacturing situations, yet it is appropriate also for service companies such as yours. ABC is also often too narrowly applied— some now argue that ABC begins too late and ends too soon in many companies. We have to analyze costs across the value system since causal factors for one
Slide 146: Activity-Based Costing 133 company’s costs often are found within another company in the value system. Although this may sound confusing, I will of course show you examples as we analyze your costs. Let’s start with what I think will be the easiest process—customer capture. Exactly what activities do you perform that result in a capture, which we defined as a signed contract? Again, the discussion went on for at least an hour. Denise nearly drove the group crazy asking the most basic questions, “Why?” and “How?” By the end, all three agreed that the first activity was customer identification. This was accomplished either through cards filled out at trade shows or responses from their advertising campaign. The next activity was customer qualification, which entailed basic research on these companies to identify those with enough size and creditworthiness to pursue. And the final one was customer sale, where an inside salesperson first made contact with each customer to see if there still was interest. Few were ready to sign contracts at this point, and often multiple site visits were necessary before contracts were signed to assure the customer that ETN/ W understood their business. Denise then gave them a template to be filled in for the next meeting (see Exhibit 4.3). What you have to do is reformat the way your costs are compiled. For external reporting your financial statements are sufficient, but for decision making and communicating your business model they are worthless. As I have drawn in the template, we need to build the total costs for each activity we identified above. To do this, some of my past clients estimated as best they could from historical data, and others, if they perform the activity frequently enough, develop the EXHIBIT 4.3 Activity-based costing process. ABC Cost Format $XXX $XXX $XXX $XXX $XXX $XXX • • $XXX Customer identification Customer qualification Customer sale • • • • • Activity n $XXX $XXX $XXX • • • • • $XXX General Ledger Cost Format Corporate costs Labor costs Marketing costs Outside consultants Sales costs Travel costs • • •
Slide 147: 134 Understanding the Numbers activity costs by studying their processes real time. I suggest you recreate from past data as best you can what you spent to capture the clients you already have on your system, since you’re currently selling to only a few—a sample size too small to study real time. A detailed discussion with all those involved with the process typically is sufficient to develop a crude analysis. I can meet next week—Okay? THE SECOND MEETING Dave, Carol, and Eric did a lot of work that week. After many false starts they agreed to use the financial statement data from the past 12 months for the analysis. Discussions with a number of their employees resulted in some interesting analyses. Although unsure of a few of their assumptions, they walked in with deeper insight into customer identification, qualification, and sale. The activities we initially agreed upon needed some refinement. The first, customer identification, was correct. There are actually three subactivities, trade show attendance, trade show preparation, and advertising, which lead to an identified customer. These activities are not mutually exclusive; often people respond to the advertising after seeing us at a trade show, or, vise versa, they come to our booth because they remember one of our advertising pieces. Using your template, we arrived at some interesting results. First, you were correct, customer identification does draw on many resources within the company. People from across ENT/ W attend the trade shows: our sales and marketing people as you would expect; our corporate officers, who typically talk with the top management of potential customers; and our operations people, who demonstrate the system and answer the technical questions. In addition, for each show there is quite a bit of preparation: Collateral materials such as brochures have to be produced, booths have to be designed and built, and site contracts negotiated. Aside from the trade shows, we also spend a large amount on advertising in trade journals. In the last 12 months, we spent approximately $875,000 on these three subactivities, which resulted in 1,200 customer leads (potential customers). We arrived at this number by talking with just about everybody in the organization, checking travel itineraries, expense reports, ad agency vouchers, and the like. It’s not an exact number, so we decided to round all our numbers to the nearest $5,000; but we think it’s close. This comes out to about $730 per lead ($875,000/1,200, rounded). We think this is a reasonable number given some industry benchmarks. Is that OKAY? Denise was excited; these could be good clients. “Yes, ABC analysis does sacrifice some accuracy for relevance. So, when you divided by the 1,200, you implicitly assumed that each of these leads were the same. Is this true?” Dave answered since he had done most of this analysis. “Yes, each lead is about the same. When people show interest, either at a show or from answering an ad, we do about the same thing: talk with them, take down their information, and pass it on to the next step.” Denise thought it was now time to do a little process review. “Good, you have just concluded your first activity-based cost analysis. Let me review the
Slide 148: Activity-Based Costing 135 steps. First, we drilled down from a high-level value system view to a process map and then ultimately into an activity and subactivity analysis. I have only one question: After identifying subactivities, why did you pool the costs together; why not analyze them separately?” “We initially did it separately but then found that there was no additional value to this added work. Ultimately, we were concerned with what it cost us to generate a lead, and, since we found that the subactivities were not mutually exclusive, we think the $730 number is sufficient,” Dave replied. Let that be you first lesson. ABC involves pooling costs from various functions within the company into homogeneous activity pools, as you have just done. The $875,000 ref lects your best estimate of the total customer identification cost pool for the last 12 months. ABC analysis is often done at too fine a level of detail. You could have tried to identify the cost of identifying each customer by having your people keep a log and entering the exact time they spent with each customer—in essence, 1,200 cost pools. Would this additional level of accuracy be worth the effort? Certainly not. The first key to ABC is to find the correct level of disaggregation of cost information: too little and the system does not provide relevant information; too much and the system becomes too complex and hard to communicate. I once saw a system installed by a consulting group with over 6,000 cost pools. No one understood it but the consultants that designed it, and when they left no one was able to explain the information from it or update it. It died in less than six months. Okay, what was your next step? Carol had done the customer qualification analysis. “This was an easy one. We outsource this function to a credit agency that gives us a report on each lead—credit history, sales history, and any other relevant information. We paid them about $210,000 for the 1,200 reports—about $175 per report, which is about the contract rate.” Denise thought, “Can I do one more lesson without overreaching? Why not try?” Note the difference between these two cost pools. This pool is very much a variable cost—the more customer reports, the greater the total cost pool. And the manner in which we apply the total costs to the object we wish to cost—a customer cost report—is obvious—the number of cost reports, since each is the same. ABC is a two-step process. First we identify the appropriate level of disaggregation—that is, the cost pools—and then we identify the appropriate “driver” for each pool. A driver is the method we use to take the total cost pool and trace it to the object we wish to cost. It’s the causal factor for the cost pool. For customer qualification, the total pool of $210,000 was spread over its causal factor, the 1,200 cost reports, to arrive at the $175 per cost report. This is what it costs to qualify a customer, the cost object. ABC is nothing more than pools and drivers. Are you totally comfortable with our first two analyses?” Dave answered: “We did argue about this. Now I think we are beginning to understand. The first activity we discussed, customer identification, is more a fixed cost pool—it doesn’t vary with the number of customer leads. Once we agree on how many trade shows we will present at and what our budget is with the ad agency, this cost is relatively fixed. Maybe one person more or less might
Slide 149: 136 Understanding the Numbers travel to the show, but the cost is budgeted. As a result, the cost per lead decreases as we become more successful in generating leads. We have already talked about ways of being more effective in this regard.” “Exactly,” said Denise. “We will no doubt go more deeply into proper identification of drivers for fixed and variable cost pools. What you should understand, though, is that ABC is just a first stage in a long journey. Most people, as you did, move quickly into ABM—activity-based management. Once you make your cost system transparent, you then naturally seek to optimize it as you are doing with customer identification. So, our end objective of this ‘long journey’ is simply that, transparency of the cost system. And the final piece?” Eric had this one. This was my responsibility and it was a lot more difficult than Carol’s piece. The final activity, customer sale, also has subactivities. We review the consultant reports and identify those we want to pursue. Of the 1,200, we identified eighty as “high potential” and tried to sell to them. Although all the effort did not fall neatly into the 12-month window, essentially we went through the full process to a signed contract for the equivalent of 10 customers. The process included phone conversations and site visits. In total, we spent $410,000 to bring to contract these 10—many of the others went through part of the process before either they or we lost interest. As with the other two activities, the costs that loaded into this pool came from across the company. Often we had to f ly out technicians to explain how the system works as well as salespeople. For larger clients, they expected a visit from a corporate officer for the formal signing. So in the end it cost us about $41,000 each to sign them to contracts.” Denise asked only one question: “Would you say this is a variable- or a fixed-cost pool?” After a lengthy discussion, the consensus was that it clearly was both a variable and a fixed cost since more high-potential leads meant more resources dedicated to pursuing them. But it was not a pure variable cost since once you hire someone to do this work, they can handle a certain number of leads rather than just one. At the end, they agreed on the following: Unlike setting a budget for a year, this cost was a step function. Within certain steps, defined as the number of high potentials a sales person could pursue—say, eight at a time—the cost was fixed. In essence, the cost was step fixed in units of eight. They also agreed that this thinking should also be applied to the customer-identification cost analysis, but left that for later. Denise then asked, “Is the $41,000 roughly the same for each potential customer sale?” Eric was quick to respond, “Absolutely not. Some require a lot more work than others.” They were at the end of the agreed meeting time but Denise thought one more lesson would not hurt. When this happens, it is an indication that you have improperly identified the driver for the pool. You must drill down to a more detailed driver definition. As
Slide 150: Activity-Based Costing 137 we discussed last meeting, on one hand, you could keep an individual log on each customer to identify the cost to sell them, but this would be time-consuming and few people take the time to accurately enter this information. On the other hand, you could aggregate the cost and average it over the 10 customers sold. But it seems that this is also not appropriate. A reasonable midpoint is to identify a separate driver defined as your best-case and worst-case customer and see if this gives you the required amount of detail. Why don’t you do that for next time and also develop a summary of the total cost to capture a customer. THE THI RD MEETING Denise watched as the group approached the room. They were arguing something in a manner that indicated they were enjoying themselves. This was a good sign. Dave began: It’s amazing to us as an organization how much we didn’t know we knew about our business. When we relayed your first assignment for this meeting to those that work with potential customers, they immediately began identifying characteristics that made some more expensive to sell than others. Large ones expect to meet our management team before signing a contract, whereas smaller ones do not. Flying one of us to these customers is expensive given our larger salaries and what it takes to backfill in our absence. Also, customers who do not really understand e-commerce and the complexity of transaction processing require on average twice as many trips as those who do. They want us to demonstrate what is wrong with their systems and to see how ours works better. Since we are not familiar with their systems, this takes a while. For the selling process, the best-case customer is a midsized company familiar with e-commerce and the headaches caused by transaction processing. We can sell them on the first trip. Unfortunately, of the 10 we signed to a contract in our sample, only 3 were of this type. The other 7 were worst-case customers—larger with less knowledge of the intricacies of e-commerce. In summary, when we trace the $410,000 using these driver definitions we estimate that the best-case customers cost about $18,300 each and the worst-case about $50,700 ($18,300 × 3 + $50,700 × 7 ≈ $410,000). What amazed us is that, once we asked these questions, our people had a number of good suggestions on how to reengineer this process. They knew these worst-case people were a problem, but never saw how much more they cost. Transparency does help. The answer to your second assignment, to calculate the total cost to capture a customer, is also amazing. This customer capture process is like a funnel. Last time we said that the activity cost per lead of $730 was reasonable, as was the $175 for each research report. But when you recognize that the process ended with only 10 signed contracts, you get a different picture. The overall process cost us a total of $1.495 million ($875 for identification, $210 for qualification, and $410 for selling) or about $150,000 per signed contract ($1.495/10, rounded)—quite a bit less for best case and a bit more for worst case. Some of these costs are variable, some fixed, and some step fixed, but all of them can be